Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

April 17

It’s been two weeks. You’d think I’d have gotten over all this by now, but that would be a lot easier if it had actually ever gone away. 

Mom and Dad say I’m fine. The doctor said I’m fine. I keep trying to tell myself I’m fine. Unfortunately for me, that doesn’t really change the fact that I’m not. 

Something’s been happening to me. All I’m hoping is that I can figure out what it is before it eats me alive. 

---

There’s a lot you can pass off as normal. A trick of the light, the result of too little sleep, a hyperactive imagination, et cetera, et cetera. It’s not hard to make up some explanation that sounds plausible. There comes a point, however, when you cross the line between a healthy amount of skepticism and straight up denial of the terrible truths that are right in front of your face.

Danny Fenton was currently playing jump-rope with that line. 

Two weeks ago, if you’d asked him about whether or not ghosts existed, he’d tell you to not believe that bullshit. The ghostly voices his parents’ machines picked up were interference from radio, the cold spots were from air conditioning, the strange noises were from rats. Agreeing with the notion that ghosts might possibly exist meant agreeing to join the family business, and that was a career path Danny would rather become a ghost himself than pursue. He wanted to work for NASA, and he highly doubted that NASA would hire anyone who claimed to be able to speak to the dead. That wasn’t science, that was a scam his parents pulled for 20 bucks an hour per exorcism. 

As stubbornly as he stuck to this opinion, it was becoming harder and harder to maintain. 

Two weeks ago, something had happened to him. He still wasn’t sure what exactly that something was, but it had involved peer pressure, a few drops of blood, and a lot of stupid decisions. 

A joke. That was all it was supposed to have been, just a joke. 

“I’m standing in the middle of a summoning circle,” he’d declared with an ironic grin, gesturing at said summoning circle on the floor. “If only Dash could see me now, huh? He’d come up with all sorts of fun new things to write on my locker.” 

“Hey, be careful with that,” Sam had warned, but with little seriousness in her voice. She’d always believed in this sort of stuff, but in the sort of way that she could laugh at. “Don’t scuff it up. I want a good picture.” She’d quickly snapped it, Danny with arms raised dramatically in the centre of the candlelit circle. He should’ve moved after that, but it didn’t seem very important at the time. 

“So your parents really think this’ll work?” Tucker had asked, gesturing at the elaborate setup. “Summoning the dead, and all that? Why not just use a ouija board?”

“I’m guessing they just think this’ll be more theatrical. You know them, any opportunity to make this more cheesy than it already is and they’ll be there. Anyway, they’ve had it set up for ages now, so I’m guessing they haven’t found anyone yet who’ll actually pay to see it.” 

“Uh-huh. Okay, so walk me through this ritual. You do… what?”

“Lemme read the book again.” Danny turned the tome in his hands around a few times, then flicked through the gruesome details on each page. The silver book was easily as heavy as a brick, with the sort of damage to the pages throughout it that you’d expect from a museum’s prized artefact. His parents had found it in an antique shop for about twenty bucks. “Uh… It wants my blood, or something.”

“Your blood?” 

“Yeah. Something about the blood or... "life force" of the living strengthening the dead. Gotta say, I admire the dedication of whoever’s this determined to open a portal to hell or whatever this is.”

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Sam laughed. “Give it your blood!”

“Yeah, like I’d- Ow.”

“Tell me you didn’t just get a papercut.”

“I got a papercut.” 

“Oh no, you gave them your blood! Watch out!”

Sam and Tucker were laughing, but Danny wasn’t. The two of them quickly stopped. 

“...Danny?”

Danny didn’t respond, because Danny wasn’t there.  Physically, there was still the same boy standing there, book in hand. There was just something about his expression that made his friends pause. It was somehow… vacant. Eyes wide. Non-responsive. 

After about two minutes of this sort of limbo, silence filled with his friends’ concerned questions, he’d fallen unconscious to the floor. 

It was a long and nerve wracking day after that. The doctors hadn’t been able to explain it, and had eventually written it off as being caused by lack of sleep.

I’m okay, he had told himself, as he dodged his parents’ questions the entire way home from the hospital. 

I’m okay, he told himself, as he stared into the dark of the basement from the top of those eternally-creaky stairs, then closed the door. 

I’m okay, he told himself, as he climbed up to his room and flopped down onto his bed. 

He tried to tell himself the same two words again as he sat up to turn off the lights, but paused as he noticed something that shattered the illusion completely.

There was something in his room. 

The thing was unmistakably shaped like a person, but… wrong. It flickered in and out of existence like some sort of black flame, and what Danny could only assume were eyes were glowing like neon green lamps. Its fingers seemed too long, too sharp, a fact which Danny observed simultaneously to the equally as horrifying realization that it

was coming 

closer. 

“What the hell…?”

Danny scrambled off his bed, grabbing the nearest object that could conceivably be used as a weapon- in this case, a small lamp. 

“Stay back,” he called out, his shaking hands betraying the falseness of the confidence he forced into his voice. 

d a n n y

Danny froze. 

The creature glided through the air as easily as skates on ice. Everything was screaming at him to run away, but despite the overwhelming feeling of wrongness, he found himself motionless. Just like that, he was face to face with the thing, its clawed fingers lifting and drawing closer to his face. 

It. was. right. there.  

He winced and shut his eyes, expecting something awful, but nothing came. Just a strange cold feeling, like a cold draft from a nearby window. 

When he opened his eyes, it was gone.

That was two weeks ago. It should’ve been the last of it, but Danny had never been known for his good luck. The summoning circle was the spark that started the fire, and it was only a matter of time before everything went down in flames.

Chapter Text

i can’t

remember

i can’t

…

i used to be someone

i just don’t know

who that is anymore

but 

maybe 

i’ve been given a second chance

there’s light again 

i can see

and i know that he

danny

can see me too

i just don’t think he wants to 

---

After that first time, Danny had tried to pretend like nothing had happened. He hadn’t seen anything, he’d insisted to himself over and over in the bathroom mirror. Maybe he’d fallen asleep without realizing it. Maybe the creature he’d seen had been nothing but some horrible night terror. Didn’t lots of people have night terrors like that? It would’ve made sense.

Would’ve.

If that had been the only time it happened.

In the two weeks since the Phantom, (as he had nicknamed it,) had first appeared in his room, it had made itself very clear that it wasn’t going away. He’d see it out of the corner of his eye as he made attempts to study for the classes he no longer cared about. He’d close his eyes when brushing his teeth, because he knew that otherwise he’d catch a glimpse of it in the mirror, right behind him. Every night, he’d wait until the last possible moment to turn off the light before retreating to the safety of underneath his bedsheets, because he didn’t want to wait and see what would be waiting there in the dark. 

It had taken him two weeks to tell anyone about all this, but he’d finally done it. He couldn’t handle going through this all alone. 

“I’m going insane.”

He sat on his bed with his head in his hands. Tucker sat on a nearby chair, looking around to see if he could spot the elusive spirit Danny had spent the last twenty minutes venting about. Sam was standing near the window, trying to summon to mind whatever ghost hunting knowledge she’d absorbed from Wikipedia and Danny’s parents over the years. 

“Why don’t you try talking to it?” Sam eventually suggested, as she lit a candle and started waving it around the room. The packaging said that it “soothed the spirit,” and although she doubted that meant soothing spirits as in calming ghosts, she figured it couldn’t hurt. 

“I’m not talking to it, because it isn’t real,” Danny snapped. “I refuse to believe my parents were right this whole time. Besides, no one else can see it! Not even my parents! I’m sure I’m just losing it.”

“I dunno, man,” Tucker said, his voice hesitant. “Like, usually I’d agree with you on this, but don’t you think it’s weird all this started happening right after you did a ghost summoning ritual? You should’ve seen yourself right before you passed out. It was like no one was home.” He shivered a little. “I’m serious, this is just like the start of any horror movie, and right now you’re acting like that one guy who’s in denial about the whole thing until he dies first. No offense, though.” 

Danny lowered his hands to glare at him. 

“Hey, I said no offense.” 

“Listen,” Sam cut in, setting the candle down on Danny’s desk, “Tucker’s right that you’re in denial, but you’re not gonna die. I just think you should try to see if it’s friendly. If not, well, it could be a chance to see if your parents’ exorcisms are actually real.” 

The lights flickered. Danny let out a frustrated groan.

“I am not bringing them into this. No way in hell. I’m dealing with whatever this is myself, and honestly, that probably just means getting more sleep. Because this isn’t real. It’s not. ” 

Sam and Tucker gave each other concerned looks, but decided not to push it more. Not today, at least. 

“...If you say so.” 

Later that night after his friends had left, Danny had a shower. After leaving to put on some clean pajamas, he returned to brush his teeth, and raised a hand to wipe away the fog from the mirror. He froze, however, upon realizing that someone else had already done so. Not just randomly, but in a very specific pattern- No, not a pattern, letters - 

D A N N Y

The toothbrush clattered to the floor. 

“Oh, fuck no.” Danny’s first move was to run, but the door was jammed shut. He shook the handle so hard it nearly broke, then pounded on the door, but quickly remembered that he was home alone. “Shit. Shit.” 

Someone was tapping on his shoulder. 

With all the bravery he could muster up, Danny called out, 

“Whoever, whatever you are, what the hell do you want with me? ”

He didn’t expect a reply.

He got one.

The voice was chilly, hollow, like it wasn’t entirely there but he could hear it anyway. It was the same one he’d heard calling his name once before. 

i just want

someone to hear me

“...What?”

The lights flickered a few times, and the door opened. Shocked, Danny stood there for a few more moments, waiting to see if the voice would say anything else, but it didn’t. 

It stayed quiet for the rest of that night. 

Chapter Text

April 24

I’m still thinking about what happened last week. The Phantom hasn’t tried to talk to me since then, but I know it’s still there. It’s just waiting. 

I wish I knew what it wanted from me. 

---

Denial was still Danny’s word of the week, but he was starting to learn to cope with the situation, at least a little. There was still the shadow that lurked constantly outside his field of vision, but he could carry on with his day despite it. He could ignore it. Problem was, he wasn’t sure he wanted to.

The thing had spoken to him. Not in the creepy, calling out his name like a demon in a horror movie sort of way that it had done initially, but in a way that sounded… sad. While he still was half-convinced that this was all some long, horrible fever dream, part of him wanted to know more. 

I just want someone to hear me.

In a way, those words echoed some of Danny’s own feelings. This thing… It just didn’t want to be alone. 

...Or it was tricking him to try to get his guard down so it could kill him. Or he was just hallucinating. One of the three. 

Sooner or later, Danny would have to try speaking to it again. He just wasn’t sure what he’d say when he did. 

Today was a Monday. Monday was always bad, regardless of how possessed you were. At least the Phantom didn’t seem to like school much either, because it was notably absent throughout Danny’s morning classes. Then again, he was sleeping through half of them, so maybe he just hadn’t noticed. 

At last, the lunch bell rang. Sleepily, he made his way through the crowds of students, then through the swinging doors of the cafeteria…

...but as the doors swung closed behind him, he found himself alone. In fact, he wasn’t even in the cafeteria. As he looked around, wondering if he’d somehow taken a wrong turn, he realized he wasn’t even on the same floor anymore. He was in the basement, in the school’s storerooms. 

When he tried to turn back, he found that the door wasn’t there. 

...Great. We're doing this today, huh?

It was chilly in here. Danny hugged himself, wondering where the hell the exit had gone, but as he picked a direction and started to walk, his senses were suddenly assaulted with a horrible smell. 

Something was rotting. 

y o u 

Danny froze. 

“...Phantom?”

But the voice wasn’t the Phantom’s. It had the same echoing, hollow, unreal feeling to it, but it was deeper, and more feminine. This was something else. 

y o u  a r e

t h e  m e d i u m

There was the sound of something shambling from around the piles of boxes. The smell was getting worse. 

“...No. You know what, I'm not dealing with this today.” 

He did the only thing he could: He ran. 

All around him, objects started lifting into the air, knives and forks of all different sizes. One whizzed by his cheek, drawing a small amount of blood, but he kept running. He had to get out of here.

Risking a look behind him, he finally saw what was following him, and resisted the urge to throw up. The thing, semi transparent and oozing, was awful. Where there should have been skin was rotting gore, and where there should have been eyes were glowing spheres of green light, not unlike the Phantom’s. It left a trail of blood behind it as it went, but if Danny hadn’t been so distracted, he would have noticed the trail disappear after the creature was far enough away, as if it had never been there in the first place. He wasn’t thinking about that right now, though. The stench was unbearable. 

It was coming closer. You’d think something that large would be slow, but it was gaining on him fast. He nearly ran straight into the door on the opposite side of the room, but when he pulled on the handles, he found it locked.

The air was getting colder. 

He pounded on the door with his fists and screamed. No one came. 

It was getting hard to breathe. 

He slammed his shoulder against the door, trying to break it open, but it didn’t budge. As the thing grew closer, he felt himself growing… weaker. 

s t o p 

r u n n i n g. 

Danny felt all the strength leave his legs, and he fell to the floor. It was like this thing was leaching the very life from him, and he couldn’t do anything to stop it. All around him now was a sort of green glow, but all he could do was watch as it faded, and faded,

as he faded, and faded,

There was a screeching noise. 

It was getting hard to see now, but Danny forced his eyes open just in time to see the Phantom appear. At first, he felt no relief, certain the thing had had some part in this. But the numbness turned to confusion as he watched the spirit let out a cry of what could have only been rage, and throw itself at the pile of gore that, strangely, had started to form into a more humanlike shape. 

Its humanlike shape didn’t last for long, though. As the two spirits collided, Phantom tearing at the thing with its claws and the other creature sending the tornado of sharp objects spinning faster and faster and faster, Danny slowly felt his life return to him. His aura seemed to be glowing brighter now, and even as it returned to its original invisible state, he knew somehow that it was still there, restored. 

Blood from the meat creature was spraying everywhere. After hitting the floor, it disappeared, but when it hit Danny’s clothes, for some reason, it stayed. The Phantom was relentless. 

It was protecting him, Danny realized suddenly. 

After what felt like ages, the gore spirit must have finally had enough. 

y o u  c a n ‘ t  p r o t e c t  h i m  f o r e v e r , it wheezed. 

Then it disappeared. 

Knives and forks began to clatter to the floor. The door behind Danny opened. The Phantom stared at him. 

Then it vanished as well. 

What just happened? 

Sam was calling him. He stared at his phone, holding it in bloodstained, shaky fingers, then answered it. 

“Where are you? Tucker and I have been looking for you all lunch! Are you okay?” 

“...I’m downstairs,” he mumbled, still mostly in shock. 

“You’re in the basement? Why the hell are you in the basement?” 

“...Ghosts.” 

“What?”

Danny passed out. 

Apparently, Sam and Tucker had found him lying there covered in blood, but after dragging him to the nurse, it had been discovered that the blood wasn’t his. It wasn’t human, either. It seemed to be from an overturned box of assorted meats downstairs. Once Danny woke up, he found that Sam and Tucker had covered for him. Apparently, as far as the school administration were concerned, this had been the work of “bullies.” They’d apparently dumped a bunch of meat on him as a joke, accidentally knocked him out in the process, then fled. When they asked him to verify it, he didn’t deny it. It was better than the alternative, at least. 

“We figured that was more believable than… ghosts,” Tucker whispered to him, as the principal finished writing up an incident report. 

Danny was still too stunned by the whole thing to reply. As they waited, he found himself looking around for traces of his second shadow, but the spirit was nowhere to be found. It was then that he surprised himself with a strange new feeling: Concern. Not for himself, but for the Phantom. For the first time, for some reason, he wanted to see it again, if only to figure out what the hell just happened . 

Eventually, after being checked for a concussion he didn’t have, he was let go from the nurse’s office. There was a light bit of lecturing for “trespassing,” (not too bad), a phone call home, (a lot worse), but fortunately no sort of serious consequence. Well, yet. He hadn’t gotten home yet, but he could cross that bridge when he got to it. 

“Okay, spill,” Sam finally said, once they were out of earshot of anyone else, “Ghosts? ”

“It’s… It’s hard to explain. I still don’t know what even happened. There was this… thing, and…” He shuddered. The image of it in his mind was still too fresh. “...Apparently the Phantom’s not the only one.” 

“What? You saw another?”

“Yeah, and it wanted me dead. It’s… hard to describe. I just don’t want to talk about it.” 

“But-”

“Seriously, I just… I can’t. Just give me a little time to process.” 

There was a long pause. Sam opened her mouth to say something, but Tucker shot her a look. Danny had been looking pretty terrible since the incident, but right now, he looked broken, like any sort of extra questioning would shatter him completely. 

Of course, they’d ask again eventually. You can’t find your friend passed out covered in blood in the school’s basement and decide to just forget about it. They’d just have to wait until after he’d had a little more time to cope with it. 

“Well…” Sam finally spoke up, “We’re here for you if you need us. What are you going to do now?”

“I think…” 

Danny closed his eyes for a moment, then sighed. 

“I think I need to talk to the Phantom.”

Chapter Text

i’m so afraid

i’m. so afraid 

i’m the only one who can fight them off 

but what happens to us

when i can’t anymore?

---

“I know you’re there.”

Danny stood in the middle of his room, gazing up at the ceiling. The time for denial was over. Denial wouldn’t save him if something like this happened again. Neither would acceptance, but at least he could try to be prepared. 

“You’re always there, so come on out. No games this time. Just talk to me.”

If only his past self could see him now. Past-Danny would probably think that Present-Danny had lost it. Hey, maybe he had, but sticking his head in the sand was going to hurt him more in the long run than talking to the ceiling. Maybe Future-Danny would thank him for this. 

“C’mon, Phantom.” 

...This would be more useful if the Phantom would actually show its face. 

Maybe it had been scared off. Maybe it didn’t want anything to do with him anymore, now that it knew he was some sort of target. Maybe Tucker’s story about getting concussed by a crate of meat was somehow actually true and it had knocked him back to reality. Probably not. 

No, enough with the denial. He had to face this, head on.

“...Look. I don’t know what you are, but I know that you saved me today, so I guess I owe you one. I promise I’m not going to tell my parents about you. Just… come out, okay? I just want to know what’s going on.”

He waited. 

There was a shadow out of the corner of his eye. When he turned, there it was: The Phantom, floating there in the corner. It was facing away from him, but it was there. 

i’m sorry

“Uh… for what?”

The spirit turned slowly to face Danny, its green eyes narrowed. It said nothing else, but raised a hand, making a gesture that seemed to say follow me. 

Danny didn’t want to, but he couldn’t exactly say no . 

Luckily enough, his parents were out shopping, and Jazz was doing one of her hundred extracurriculars, so the two walked through the house alone and unimpeded. Well, Danny walked, the Phantom moved like smoke being moved by wind. Eventually, they made it to the one place in the house Danny wanted to be least: The top of the basement stairs. He hadn’t been there since the incident. 

“You… You really want to go down there?”

The Phantom looked at him for a moment, then floated right through the solid wood of the door. 

“...Guess I don’t have a choice.”

Danny opened the door with a creak that made him wince. There were no lights on in the basement, giving off the appearance that the stairs led straight into an endless void. To Danny, that may as well have been reality. Going down there felt like a prison sentence.

He couldn’t see the Phantom anymore, but he could feel its presence, guiding him forward like an invisible tether. Taking a few deep breaths, he reached for the railing, then stepped downwards into the dark. 

After finally finding the light switch, he spotted the Phantom floating there, once again not facing him. The spirit’s gaze was fixed on a single point in the room: The summoning circle. It remained on the floor exactly where it had been before, minus the candles that used to surround it. His parents had tried to clean it up, but failed, finding the pattern had somehow been scorched into the floor like a brand. That hadn’t been comforting news for Danny to hear. Phantom remained where it was, staring. Then it looked at Danny. 

Rather than words, Danny found himself bombarded with a series of images and feelings, flashing like a slideshow with the speed set on maximum. 

He saw himself. The summoning circle, the candles, the blood. A tether. Phantom, trapped in an endless void then thrown suddenly into the world of the waking, confusion, relief, confusion, 

A beacon. He was a beacon. 

Thousands of unseen presences. Hunger. Life. The need to be solid, tangible, real , 

He was a power source. He had, was, something they wanted, needed, 

The medium. The bridge between worlds. A way to return. To come back. To live. To exist. To be. To be. To be. It would come at a cost, a price they were prepared to pay, that meant nothing to them but everything to him, a cost he could not afford, he couldn’t, he-

He staggered back, gasping, his heart going a mile a minute. Phantom still stared at him, waited a moment for him to catch his breath, then spoke. 

we

are bound together. 

you gave me a second chance

but

you made yourself a target.

i’m sorry 

what happened today will happen again

and i’m not sure 

if i’ll always be able to stop it. 

Danny stared.

What could he say that could possibly be a proper response to this? He hadn’t just summoned Phantom, he’d sent up a beacon signalling to every other spirit out there that he was someone who could be stolen from. They didn’t just want to scare him, or kill him, they wanted to take his very humanity for themselves, and Phantom was the only one who could stop them. He understood now, sort of: There was this plane of existence, and then there was the other one, and when he’d spilled that blood on this circle he’d placed one foot in either.

One foot in the grave.

It was almost funny. 

“So… every ghost wants to leach my life like a freaking vampire, except for you.” 

Sometimes when someone is overwhelmed with so much information that they can barely cope with it, they pick one of the hundred questions going through their mind and latch onto it. Danny’s question now was this:

“...Why aren’t you trying to kill me?”

you’ve already traded part of yourself 

just to get me here. 

“...Okay.”

…

“I think I need to sit down.” 

Danny made his way shakily back to the stairs, then sat himself down on the bottom step, putting his head in his hands. He didn’t know how long he was sitting there for, but when he finally looked up, Phantom was gone. For a second, Danny considered calling out to it… him? again, but eventually settled on staying silent, standing up, and making the slow climb up those eternally-creaky stairs. He’d have to talk to him again soon, he knew that. For now, though, he needed a break from the supernatural. Just for a little bit. It was only a matter of time before he got dragged back into it all, anyway.

Just one break. 

It had been a long day. 

Chapter Text

April 25

Phantom’s not out to get me. I know that now. Problem is, there are others who definitely are . It’s only a matter of time before more come, and I’m not sure they’ll go down as easily as the first one did. That means I need to make some kind of plan.

Step 1: Figure out some way to help Phantom fight back.

Step 2: Try to do that without parents catching on.

Step 3: Don’t die?

Easier said than done. 

One way or another, I’m going to find some way to survive this.

Mom and Dad’s college reunion is coming up in a week, though, so I guess I’ll have to survive that first. 

---

Some would say Vlad Masters lived the high life. He had everything, after all. All the money in the world, the biggest house with the nicest view, a business empire he could do whatever he wanted with.

The perfect life. 

But this life was not his own. 

He’d known for a while that he was dying. There’s only so much one soul can give, and the creature that had made its home in his head had no qualms over making his life hell. And yet, life continued on, because the same creature that was killing him wouldn’t let him die. It couldn’t, not while it still needed him. They were stuck like this, the two of them.

Always dying, never dead. 

Sometimes he missed the way it used to be. The three of them, inseparable. It wasn’t hard to banish these thoughts from his mind, though. The knife in his back still stung, and day after day after day all he wanted was to turn the blade back on the one who had put it there in the first place. These thoughts were harder to exorcise, especially when the demon brought them back to the front of his mind every time he made attempts to forget. Thoughts of vengeance, thoughts of death. The demon fed on it. It loved it. 

If he could turn back the clock, he would, but the time for hesitation was ending as he finished penning the handwritten invitations scattered across his desk. 

He couldn’t rewrite this story, but he could end it. It had been blood-soaked from the start. Why not finish it the same way? 

There was one invitation on the top once he swept the scattered envelopes into one neat pile. It read: To my dear friend, Jack Fenton. 

---

Danny hated car rides. He’d always been claustrophobic, but a small space plus the forced interaction with the three people he wanted to talk to least was especially awful. Add in the fact that he was literally haunted, and you made one big horrible nightmare of an experience. 

“It’s been years since we’ve seen ol’ Vladdie,” Jack explained. “Ah, reliving the old times! This is gonna be great, eh hun?”

“I wonder what he’s been up to,” Maddie mused. “He never did call us after graduation.” 

“Oh well, we’ll ask him all about it when we get there. Now, who wants to listen to my ghost-hunting playlist? Fair warning, I’m going to sing along the entire time.”

Danny was currently wondering how much it would hurt to jump out of a moving car. Probably only slightly more than this.

Out of the corner of his eye, he vaguely registered Jazz staring at him with a furrowed brow. She’d clearly been concerned about him lately, especially since the incident in the school storerooms the week before. Their parents had let it go. She hadn’t. Either she was still concerned about the alleged bullies, or she knew that there was more to it than that. Hopefully the former. As Jack and Maddie started to sing to what was probably the most obscure playlist known to man, Jazz pulled out her phone and began to type. 

Danny’s phone buzzed. 

[ J ]: You alright?

[ D ]: peachy. doesn’t dad have the loveliest singing voice? 

[ J ]: You know that’s not what I’m asking about. I’ve been trying to ask if you’re okay all week, but you keep dodging the question. 

[ D ]: ah, so you decided to try again when i literally cannot escape the interaction. genius move. are you going to do this every car ride? 

[ J ]: I’m sorry. I’ve just been really worried. 

Danny was already typing another sarcastic reply when he glanced over and saw the look on his sister’s face. She seemed… genuinely upset. He looked down at the unsent message, looked back at Jazz, then sighed and deleted it. He retyped something nicer. 

[ D ]: don’t worry about it. it’s just school, okay? hey, maybe a weekend out of the city will help with all the stress. it’ll be okay, promise. 

Every word in that message was a lie, but Jazz expression softened. At least a little comforted, she nodded at him, then returned her phone to her pocket. 

Danny’s phone buzzed. 

A little confused, he opened the text. It wasn’t from Jazz. In fact, it wasn’t from anyone. His own text box was typing on its own. 

[]: danny

Danny stared, then noticed something out of the corner of his eye. In his reflection in the rearview mirror, there was something behind him. 

Phantom. 

[]: there’s something big 

He realized now that part of what he thought was his own restless anxiety was Phantom’s . Maybe it was partially due to being stuck in a car with two ghost hunters, but judging by the message, there was clearly something else at play here. 

To make sure he didn’t accidentally send any of this to Jazz, he switched to a notepad app to type his reply. 

   -what? 

It was good that Phantom had chosen the phone to communicate with, Danny realized. He couldn’t say his reply out loud, not here. Besides, he probably wouldn’t have been able to hear Phantom’s voice right now, not with the racket in the front seat. He couldn’t hear himself think. 

Phantom’s reply was instant. 

   -it’s getting closer

   -or we’re getting closer to it 

   -i’m afraid of what happens when we reach it 

Danny didn’t know what to say. 

“Mom? Mom, can you turn off the- MOM.” 

“Yeah, honey?” 

“I, uh, feel carsick. Can we pull over?” 

“I’m sorry, Danny, it’s not safe to stop on the highway like this. But don’t worry! We’ll be at Vlad’s in no time. Do you want some water?” 

“Uh… I’m alright.” 

Jazz passed him a plastic bag. 

He couldn’t see Phantom in the mirror anymore, but he could feel how he felt, and he felt awful. As the car continued on, the spirit grew more and more agitated, and a cold chill began to settle in Danny’s chest. 

This reunion had been a source of dread for weeks, but for the normal reasons. He’d been afraid of small talk, boredom, embarrassment. As they pulled off the highway and onto the road leading to their destination, however, he began to realize that what was waiting for them there was going to be much, much worse. 

Chapter Text

how much longer

do i have left…? 

---

How do you calm down a ghost?

More specifically, how do you calm down a ghost while your ghost-hunting family members are all standing a few feet away from you?

“Phantom,” Danny hissed under his breath, stumbling from the car as soon as it stopped, “I can’t breathe. Please get your shit together. Aren’t you supposed to be the scary one?”

He wasn’t exaggerating. The spirit’s fear was actually, literally suffocating him. It was as if the car had taken him to a far-up mountain range where the air was far too thin to breathe comfortably, and Dash was there, punching him in the gut repeatedly. Danny leaned on the car for support, trying and failing to look casual. He looked like a wreck.

Finally seeming to realize this, Phantom put a little distance between the two of them. The further they were, the less powerful the emotional effect was, and Phantom had been floating directly behind him for hours. At least now that the car had stopped he didn’t have to anymore, and once the two were separated a little, Danny could finally catch his breath. 

“Try to never do that again, please.” 

Jazz looked over at him. “Did you say something?”

“...Nope.” 

She raised an eyebrow, but let it go. 

They were here. The mansion looked like a literal castle, but Danny wasn’t feeling very kingly as they stepped up to the massive iron doors. 

He felt worse as the man himself stepped out from them. 

Vlad Masters. 

If the reunion had happened before Danny’s life started falling to pieces, maybe he wouldn’t have noticed anything, but the chill that assaulted him as soon as the door opened felt like being thrown into the Arctic Ocean. Phantom was nowhere to be seen. He didn’t know what, but there was something about this man that let Danny know that Phantom’s fears were warranted. Something was horribly, incredibly wrong. If he had a choice, he’d turn around and run.

But he didn’t have a choice. His family was already walking inside. 

Vlad’s smile was that of a snake’s. 

“Jack, Maddie! It has been far, far too long.”

---

Harriet Chin hated college reunions. The bad food, the forced interactions. If she wanted to see any of these people again, they’d have kept in touch from the start, wouldn’t they? She might not have come tonight, if she hadn’t had a much more important reason than small talk. 

She was investigating a case. 

The victim had been Benjamin Price, a twenty-seven year old man from Wisconsin. He’d been found buried in the woods after someone’s dog, looking for a bone, had sniffed him out and dug him up. Bodies were found in the woods all the time, but there was something strange about this particular one. 

No one could figure out how he’d died. 

No bullet holes. No knife wounds. No poison in his system. No head trauma. No anything. Maybe it had been as simple as a heart attack, and maybe it could have been left at that, if not for the definitive signs of a struggle. Then there was the expression frozen on his face. It was horrible, and it was stuck . An endless, horrified scream. 

The man had no friends, no family, no connections whatsoever. No connections, that is, except for the company he worked at: Vladco. Technology and weapons manufacturing. It just so happened that this company was owned by Harriet’s own former classmate: Vlad Masters. 

This fact may not have been so important, if that had been the only murder.

Three different men. Three different years. All three of them found dead under the same mysterious circumstances in different parts of the same stretch of woods. All men with no friends, no family. Men who wouldn’t be missed. Most notably, all of them were men who worked for Vladco. 

It couldn’t be a coincidence that all three of them had no one who would care if their case was pursued or not. To find out that about a person, you’d have to know them.

Or have access to their personal files.

It was so clear that there was a link here to be investigated. So why was no one investigating it?

Now, Harriet was no cop. She was a reporter. The only reason she knew about this case was because she’d happened to write stories on the first two. Man found dead in Wisconsin woods. She’d been thirty-five. Man found dead in Wisconsin woods… again. She’d been thirty-eight. Now she was forty-one, and her interest in the case hadn’t waned. In fact, it had only grown stronger, because no one. Was. Investigating it. The cops wouldn’t. She had contacts in the local police station, and they treated the case like the plague. No one would touch it. It was almost as if… they’d been told not to. 

So here she was. Driving on the highway on the way to the reunion, ready to get some answers. She’d known Vlad Masters, a little. They’d both written for the school newspaper. Now she supposed she’d have to get to know him again. One way or another, Masters had to know something. 

She’d just have to find out what. 

---

Danny’s night at the mansion had been plagued with nightmares. Death, pain, blood, pain. It had been a blur, and a horrible one at that. 

He’d woken up to Phantom floating right in front of him, staring. 

danny.

Danny nearly fell out of bed. 

“JEEZ, I told you not to do that! You’re like a sleep paralysis demon, holy shit.”

...i’m not a demon

“...Right. Sorry. What is it?” 

i looked around last night

masters

he’s 

“Rise and shine, Danny! Reunion’s today, and I don’t want anyone to miss a thing!” 

It was Jack. Phantom hissed a little, but as always, Danny was the only one who could hear him. 

“Alright, Dad. Just let me get dressed.” 

“Righty-o, see you downstairs!”

The door closed, and Danny sighed. “Sorry. What were you saying?”

just

be careful

stay out of masters’ way

and whatever you do 

don’t trust him.

Phantom vanished.

“...Alright. Thanks for the existential dread.”

Danny got dressed. 

---

Vlad was sitting in his office, door locked, head in his hands. He should be downstairs, at least playing the role of a good host. He knew that. He just… couldn’t. Not right now. 

The plan was falling into place. Everything was perfect. And yet… he wasn’t sure he wanted it to be. 

All those years. They’d been best friends, the three of them. What had gone wrong? 

You know exactly what happened, Vladimir. You know what he did to you. To us.

“Not right now,” Vlad mumbled, to himself but not quite. “Don’t do this right now. I need to think.”

Having doubts?

“No. I’m just… thinking.”

Any ghost hunter worth their salt would tell you to not mess with things you don’t understand. Don’t anger the dead. Don’t play with rituals without knowing what they’ll do to you. 

If only they’d been so wise. 

Maddie had been hesitant about the whole thing, interested as she was. She wasn’t scared, she’d just wanted to do more research before they made an attempt. To know exactly what they had gotten themselves into. Jack? He’d been so excited, he’d wanted to try right away. To speak with the dead.

To speak. Nothing more than that. 

How was Vlad supposed to know that Jack had drawn the symbols from the wrong book?

“It really wants blood?” Vlad had asked, incredulous. “A bit macabre, isn’t it?” 

“I’ll do it if you’re scared, V-Man.” Jack had offered with a grin, clearly not taking this seriously. He never took anything seriously. 

Vlad looked at Maddie, then snatched the knife away from where Jack was already reaching for it. “No.” I’m not letting you get all the glory. “I don’t want you to get hurt.” 

“Are you sure about this?” Maddie asked, even as her eyes glittered with interest. She wasn’t happy about the whole blood thing either, but at least it didn’t have to be a lot of blood. She had bandages on hand, anyway. It’d all be worth it in the end.

Wouldn’t it? 

“I’m sure,” Vlad replied, then stepped forward, raised the knife to his palm, and made the biggest mistake of his life. 

It was thoughts of that day that Vlad now found himself lost in. The past never left him. Always, always, it remained.

You can’t change the past, the demon purred, dragging its smoky claws along the desk to delight in the horrible sound it made. You can, however, make the ones responsible for it pay. 

“I know.”

So, what are you waiting for?

Vlad took a minute to respond, his eyes drifting to the drawer underneath his desk. Slowly, he opened it, then opened the locked box within it, revealing an intricately carved knife. The same knife he’d used to curse himself twenty years before. Gingerly, he picked it up, remembering the feel of it as he’d slid it across his palm. He stared at it until his gaze was as sharp as the blade, then placed it within his suit pocket. It wasn’t required for what he was going to do today, but having it there felt somehow poetic. 

Then he stood up, and headed for the door. 

“Nothing,” he finally responded. “I’ve waited long enough.” 

Chapter Text

May 2 

I want to go home. 

---

Nothing Danny did could offset the constant, horrible, overwhelming feeling of dread that had haunted him since the car ride the day before. Whether it was Phantom’s fault or just his own anxiety, he had no idea- not that it made a difference at this point. Something was wrong, and he had no idea what. 

Phantom knew something, but he wouldn’t give any specific information. Perhaps he couldn’t find the words. Or maybe he was just too scared. One way or another, Danny had nothing to go off of but that one grim warning: Whatever you do, don’t trust Masters. 

What was he hiding?

It was on a search for the answer to that question that led him upstairs, even as the rest of the party’s guests were enjoying themselves downstairs. This was Vlad’s house, after all, there must be some answers to be found up here. 

Phantom’s anxiety was, once again, nearly overwhelming, but he allowed Danny to continue forward, probably because Vlad was downstairs. Anything to get away from him, even if it meant going up here. 

“Try to calm down, okay? I promise, first sign of anything freaky, and I’ll run downstairs. Don’t wo… Wait.”

Someone else was up here. 

It wasn’t Vlad. 

It was the woman in the mint green suit who Jack had introduced to Danny earlier: Harriet Chin. She didn’t seem to spot him, not yet, at least, so he hid around a corner, wondering what she was doing here. 

...Clearly not looking for a bathroom, he decided, as she produced a lockpick from her pocket. 

---

Harriet wasn’t a criminal, but sometimes rules had to be broken to get some answers. It wasn’t like breaking and entering was her first choice, but Vlad’s answers to her questions had yielded so painfully little that she had to look deeper than what could be seen on the surface. 

“It’s a shame what happened to Benjamin Price,” she’d mentioned, as if it was casual conversation. “Scary, isn’t it? Happening so close to here?” 

Vlad’s stare had been ice, but the tone of his voice had the practiced calm of someone who was used to dodging questions. 

“Terrifying. I wouldn’t worry, though. The police around here are fine people, I’m sure they’ll catch the culprit in no time.” 

Every time she’d attempted to ask more after that, he’d avoided her. 

So here she was. 

She wasn’t naive enough to believe he’d just leave evidence lying out in the open, but maybe there was something. Just something small to let her know she was on the right track. Anything.

The door opened with a satisfying click, and she crept inside. 

“...Wow.”

Even without her suspicions of what the man had done, the office was creepy. There were large windows, but the cobwebs covering the thick curtains over top of them suggested that they hadn’t been opened in a long time. In the trash can were a few papers covered in feverish, scribbled notes, maybe torn out of a journal somehow, but crossed out with sharpie so she had no way of knowing what they may have said. There were a few broken pens in there, too. The walls were covered in paintings with eyes that seemed to follow you wherever you went, and then there was that boy in the doorway.

...A boy in the doorway.

Harriet spun around to face him, eyes wide and guilty. How had she not heard him coming? It was like he’d just appeared. She recognized him, after a second- Danny Fenton, Jack and Maddie’s son. Oh, she was screwed. She was so screwed. 

“Oh, this isn’t the bathroom, silly me. I better… get going...” 

Danny raised an eyebrow. 

“Somehow I don’t think the bathroom would have needed a lockpick.” 

The two stared at each other. Harriet thought for certain that this was game over, that the kid would snitch, that she’d be thrown out and possibly fired, but to her surprise, the boy’s suspicious expression quickly turned into a conspiratorial grin. 

“...But I guess it’s an easy mistake to make. Hey, while the door’s open, no harm in looking, right?”

---

So here Danny was, searching the office of a creepy old man alongside his parents’ old college acquaintance. It didn’t seem like there was much to be found, at least not without a thorough search, besides the fact that Vlad was a bit of a weirdo. He glanced at Harriet, wondering not for the first time what she was doing here. 

“So I know why I’m searching through this creep’s stuff, but what about you?”

Harriet looked like she was choosing her words carefully. 

“I shouldn’t say too much, but I’m following a lead.” She still seemed a bit suspicious of him, despite her gratitude that he wasn’t going to rat her out. “What about you? Do you know something?”

Danny hesitated, because he didn’t know. Phantom had been frustratingly vague. 

“...I know that he’s a creep, also that he’s probably hitting on my mom, which is weird. Isn’t that enough reason to want to dig up some dirt?”

Harriet blinked. 

“...Guess so.” 

So the two searched on in silence. 

Phantom didn’t like anybody, but he wasn’t afraid of Harriet, which put Danny at ease. The ghost floated around for a bit, not being particularly helpful, until something seemed to catch his eye. In a blink, he was over by the bookshelf, then with a crash knocked a large book to the floor. The sound made both Danny and Harriet jump in surprise, but Phantom didn’t do anything else after that. The book lay open on the floor. 

Danny started to move over to it, but Harriet made it there first, grabbing it and flipping through the pages, her brow furrowing more and more each time.

“What the hell is this? Possession, sacrifice, ghosts…” She glanced at the bookshelf. “...Come to think of it, a lot of his books are like that. Guess he has an interest in the occult?”

This meant nothing to her besides that the man had strange interests, but Danny’s eyes went wide. 

“Give it here,” he said, snatching it and flipping through them. The rituals here were like the ones in the book in Danny’s basement, some of them identical, but some of them worse . It had details on the ritual he’d accidentally done to summon Phantom. There was something else in the book that caught his eye, though… Banishment. 

He stared at the word for a minute. Did that mean…

Then he felt a pang of anxiety that wasn’t his. Then a pang of guilt that was. 

It wouldn’t work, either way. The page in this book on the ritual he’d done made it very clear that it couldn’t be undone, not by banishment or exorcism or any other means, not without destroying himself in the process. The more he thought about it, though, the more he realized that he didn’t want to banish his second shadow, even ignoring the fact that it would probably kill him to try. It seemed insane to admit, but he’d gotten used to having Phantom around. For better or for worse, he wasn’t alone anymore, and it’d have to stay that way.

“Don’t worry, buddy,” he said quietly, “I wouldn’t.” 

The anxiety subsided.

“What?” That was Harriet.

“Uh, nothing.”

He looked back to the banishment page. It wouldn’t work on Phantom, but what about others? Would this have come in handy during the incident at school the week before? For now, he didn’t really understand what the page was asking of him, but he figured he’d want to read it later, or at least give it to Sam, who was better at deciphering this sort of ghostly stuff. 

There wasn’t a pocket big enough to fit a tome of this size, but he stepped out of the room and slid it behind a houseplant in the hallway for safekeeping. He’d come back to it and stick it in his luggage later. 

Harriet watched him do it, clearly still suspicious, but didn’t object to it. “I wonder why he’s so interested in this.” 

“Dunno. It was a hobby he and my parents shared in college.” 

Judging by the way Phantom acted around him, though, Danny worried it was a lot more than a hobby. 

Harriet shrugged and began attempting to pick the locks on the desk drawers. 

That was when Danny heard voices.

“Oh shit.” 

Harriet got the hint and went silent, while Danny pulled the door to be almost closed. Through the thin crack he’d left, he looked out, wondering who it could be.

It was Vlad.

And…

Dad?

The two were walking side by side through the hallway, chatting about football or whatever idle chatter they could come up with. Jack was enthusiastic, while Vlad’s smile seemed plastered on, cold, fake. As obvious as that was, Jack didn’t seem to notice. 

“So, where are we going, V-Man?”

“Ah, just a surprise. It’s something I owe you after all these years.”

“Can’t wait!”

“Me too, Jack, me too.” 

Something was wrong. Danny felt it too, now- A presence, like a bucket of ice cold water being dumped over his head. Together, the two men entered a door at the end of the hallway. Vlad closed the door behind them, and they disappeared from sight. 

Harriet breathed a sigh of relief and returned to the lock she was picking, but Danny couldn’t relax. He felt so cold, and somehow he knew it wasn’t Phantom’s doing. 

“I-I’m gonna go,” he said shakily, and quietly left, Phantom following close behind. 

“Uh… alright.” 

Harriet stared at him suspiciously, no doubt wondering if he was planning to snitch after all, but he figured she could believe what she wanted. Whatever she was looking for, he hoped she found it, especially if Vlad really was some kind of criminal. For now, though, he couldn’t help her anymore. Not when everything was screaming at him that his Dad was in danger.

Taking the book with him, he made his way quickly to the door. Upon trying the door, however, he found it locked. 

Phantom stared. 

He didn’t want to go in there. The last thing he wanted to do was go in there. But Danny… Danny looked so helpless. Scared. Without Phantom’s help… Jack Fenton was going to die.

Scared as he was, he couldn’t let that happen. 

He drifted silently to the door, then placed one clawed finger to his shadowy face, where his mouth would be if it were visible. 

stay here

“But-” 

please

i promise i’ll save him

just stay here 

Then he flew through the door. 

He stuck to the shadows, staying out of sight. Vlad was standing there, facing Jack, who (for now) seemed unharmed. There was something else in the room. Phantom had felt its presence the other night, when he’d gone looking around, but he hadn’t gotten too close. Now, it was here. No doubt it felt his presence too. 

At least Vlad seemed unaware. 

“-There’s a debt to be repaid, Jack. I do hope you’ll forgive me when we see each other in hell.” 

“I’m still waiting for the funny part of this prank, Vladdie?” 

“None of this has ever been funny. Did you enjoy that drink I gave you, by the way? It should be kicking in by now.”

He didn’t get a response, because Jack fell to the floor. 

The thump was so loud that it could be heard outside the door, and Phantom felt Danny’s panic mirroring his own. Not much time left. 

“Alright, demon. Do your worst.” Vlad sighed, then went to look out the window, looking away from the very act he was helping to commit. He looked almost regretful. That was when it finally appeared: The presence. The ghost- No, Phantom was a ghost. This was a demon . It coalesced from the shadows in the room, a grim smile on its shadowy features. Phantom knew what would happen next. As a soulbound ghost, neither he nor it were bound by the same rules that most ghosts had to follow. They had one foot in the living world much like mediums had one foot in the grave.

That meant there was nothing stopping the demon from stealing this man’s life. 

It was powerful. More powerful than Phantom. If he started this fight, he wasn’t sure he could end it.

But he couldn’t just stand by. 

g e t  a w a y  f r o m h i m. 

Both Vlad and his demon spun around, Vlad with surprise, the demon with glee. 

I was wondering if you’d show your face. 

“What is that? Another ghost?”

A pest. This won’t take long.

Chapter Text

i don’t

i don’t want to 

i don’t want to die again

---

L… M… N… O… P. Price. The filing cabinet held information from all of Vlad’s employees. Records of paychecks, HR complaints, etc. Price, where’s Price… Ah! Here it was. Finally, the folder Harriet had been looking for. For good measure, she’d grabbed the folders for the other victims as well. Clay Morris, Tristan Elliot, Benjamin Price. There had to be something in here. She was just about to look inside when the door swung open.

It was Danny.

“Jesus! Don’t scare me like that-”

Her annoyance fell away when she saw the look on his face.

Pure terror. 

“Are… Are you alright? What’s going on?”

“I need your lockpick. Now.” 

“What do you want with my lockpick? ” 

“Please, just give it to me.” 

“I’m sorry kid, but-”

He grabbed it from where it was sitting on the desk, then ran. 

“Hey! Get back here with that!” 

Getting it back wouldn’t have been hard, that is, if he hadn’t slammed the door in her face. 

“I’m sorry!” His voice was muffled through the thick wooden door. “I’ll give it back later.”

She tried the door, but somehow, it had jammed. How the hell had it jammed?  

“Open the damn door!”

Danny was already gone. After trying the door for a while, she eventually sat back down with the files, sighing loudly. She’d get it open eventually, and she was going to strangle that kid when she did. For now, she guessed she may as well look inside the files, see if there was anything important. 

They were empty. 

She stared, barely able to believe what she was seeing. All that, and the files were empty? She felt like laughing. Or crying. Or both. This was… too much. She’d come all this way, picked two locks, might go to jail just so she could try to find justice, find the truth, and instead she’d found nothing. 

...Wait.

Nothing. 

Wasn’t that strange?

There should’ve been something. Records of last paychecks? Copies of contracts? Anything? The man had just died. Maybe it would’ve made sense to empty the folders of the other victims, it had been years, after all, but why so speedy with this one? It was like Vlad was pretending the man had never existed. 

Now, why would he do this if there was nothing to hide? 

Maybe her suspicions hadn’t been so crazy after all. 

She placed the empty folders back in the filing cabinet, closed it, then stood up. There was still the matter of the door. That kid- something had been up with him, that was for sure. If she got out of here, maybe she’d be able to find out what. 

She took a deep breath, then lifted her leg and kicked. 

---

Phantom was losing. 

He’d never lost a fight before, but that was because he’d only ever been in one. Then, he’d been acting on pure instinct, fuelled by terror, rage, and the need to protect the one who he relied on to stay here, to stay sane in this waking world he’d found himself in. His strength came from his bond with a human, not from any sort of experience.

Unfortunately for him, the demon he faced now had both. 

His claws were stained magenta, his opponent’s stained green, the floor stained both. Vlad watched from where he stood by the window, his expression icy. Something about the man made Phantom want to attack him too, but anytime he tried, the demon would be right there to block his path. All he could do was fight with everything he had, buying time until… buying time until what? No one was coming to save him, after all. 

But Danny would never have forgiven him if he hadn’t at least tried. 

I expected you to be stronger, the demon hissed. Not everyone gets the chance you’ve gotten. Are you telling me you’re wasting it? 

Phantom didn’t reply, just hissed back, slashing out recklessly at his foe. 

He couldn’t do this for much longer. 

You can’t kill a ghost, but you can make them wish you could. You can’t end their afterlife completely, but you can break them down, tear their spirit away until they’re nothing but a wisp of semi-consciousness floating through a sort of meaningless void that you can’t really call life. 

It’s different for a soulbound ghost. 

Sharing a life force with a human means that you need each other. You can’t have one without the other. It wouldn’t be long, Phantom realized with horror, before Danny started to feel the effects of the fight as well. 

mistakemistakemistakemistake

He had to get out of here. 

Danny would never forgive him for failing to save his father, but there would be no one to forgive anyone if they were both destroyed. Phantom could’ve been reckless with his life force if he was doing this alone, but losing now meant taking Danny down with him. He couldn’t do that to him. He couldn’t. 

But when he tried to pull away, the demon grabbed his shadowy arm, keeping him right where he was. 

Going somewhere? 

letmegoletmegoletmego

please

don’t kill danny too 

Vlad froze. 

“Did that thing just say Danny?”

Oh. Did I not mention it to you? I thought it was obvious since the moment they arrived. 

That boy is a medium. This thing belongs to him. 

“...Don’t destroy it then.”

And let it get away?

“I didn’t say that. Just restrain it until we finish here. Two bodies would be more trouble to take care of than it’s worth.” 

Phantom didn’t miss the tremor in the man’s voice. Was that really the only reason he was sparing him? If not… why would he lie? 

Don’t tell me you’ve gone soft. But fine, if you insist. 

Phantom found himself frozen in place, shadows wrapped around him tight like ropes. All he could do was watch as the demon turned its attention to Jack, still drugged unconscious on the floor. 

Vlad moved from the window to stare down at Jack, his face a mask. 

“Goodbye, old friend.” 

Phantom let out a screech as Jack’s aura came into view, and watched helplessly as the demon began to siphon it away. Slowly, slowly, Jack Fenton was dying. 

The screech was so loud, so agonized, that no one noticed the door open. 

“Get. Away. From. My. Dad.” 

“Wh-”

Vlad turned around just in time to see his own book, (large, heavy, and bound in leather,) be swung right at his face. With a crack that could only be the sound of a nose breaking, Vlad went flying, then collapsed to the ground unconscious. The demon screeched, clearly feeling the blow as well. Danny stood there, breathing heavily, then opened the book and turned to the demon. 

Now, a soulbound demon can’t be banished permanently. It can, however, be sent away, just for a little bit. 

As long as a price is paid. 

Vlad’s knife had gone skittering out from his pocket as he fell, and lay on the ground at Danny’s feet. Seizing the opportunity, Danny snatched it, and held it up. 

“Hey demon. Watch this.” 

With the book balanced open over his arm, he opened his hand, then brought the knife down across it, slashing a thin line of blood that quickly welled up and spilled over. He pointed at the demon with a bloody finger, then read:

“Relinquo.” 

Not every story is true, not every instruction useful. If anyone else were to attempt this, no symbols, no candles, no holy water, it may not have worked the way they wanted it to, if at all. But Danny was a medium now, and to a medium, words had power. So did blood. That was why while the demon had been strong and fearless before, it now shrank away, shrieking with pain. Danny’s eyes glowed furiously, a glow that slowly surrounded him, swirling and pushing the demon away, away, away.

You can’t get rid of me for good, it hissed, even as it fled. I’ll be back.

Maybe it would be. For now, though, it disappeared, the only evidence that it was still around being a faint glow from Vlad’s closed eyelids as it returned to its host, then nothing. 

Danny stood there for a moment, guard raised, shoulders tense. For a few, terrifying moments he worried the demon might come back, but it didn’t. It remained in hiding, waiting. The fight was over.

He fell to his knees, and before he could muffle it, let out a small sob. 

“Dad, oh god, Dad… Please wake up. Please tell me you’re okay.” 

Jack didn’t wake up, the sleeping drug still running its course, but his breathing was steady. He was asleep for now, but he’d wake up. He’d wake up. 

Somewhere in Danny’s mind, a dam broke. That first sob was followed by another one, then another one. His Dad had almost died . As much as Danny took him for granted sometimes, got annoyed by his ghostly antics or whatever else he did, he loved him. He was eccentric, but he was a good dad, and a loss like that would’ve destroyed Danny. It had been too close, way too close. 

What had happened to make Vlad hate him so much?

Phantom watched quietly from the corner for a moment, before floating out towards Danny and settling down beside him. His wounds were still there, green and glowing, but they were healing fast. He’d be okay in a bit. No doubt Danny felt the sting from them as well, but the panic kept him from noticing his own pain. He did, however, notice Phantom. 

“Oh jeez, you’re hurt…” 

i’m okay 

“Are you sure? All those scratches…”

it’s okay

see? 

They were already starting to close up. Danny’s eyes widened for a moment, before he sighed with relief. 

“Thank god. I was so worried about you, doing this all by yourself… What was that thing?” 

it was like me

but worse 

“So Vlad made the same sort of deal with it that I made with you?” 

Phantom nodded, then went silent for a moment. He stared at the floor where Jack and Vlad remained unconscious, then closed his eyes. 

i’m sorry 

“What? What for?”

i failed 

look what could have happened 

if you weren’t here to stop it

“...Hey. You still saved us. I wouldn’t have had time to pick that lock if you hadn’t been buying time, and then Dad would be… you know. Don’t sell yourself short.” 

He reached out a hand, hesitating a moment, then patted Phantom lightly on the shoulder. Phantom opened his eyes again, and stared at him with confusion. 

“C’mon. Let’s drag Dad out of here before that fruitloop over there wakes up and tries to stop us.”

After a long trek down the hallway, Jack ended up waking up, luckily before Danny attempted to pull him down the stairs. Turns out, he didn’t remember any of what had just happened. In Danny’s explanation, he left out the part with the ghosts, but kept in the part with the drugging. It felt important to know. 

“Oh, Vladdie, that prankster. I’m sure it’s just a joke that went too far.”

“I’m telling you, Dad, he was trying to kill you.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, son! We’re friends. He’d never do something like that.”

Danny couldn’t even argue further, because it was at that moment that Vlad walked up. Fortunately, the demon was nowhere to be seen, but the man wasn’t much better. His nose was a painful-looking shade of purple and the look in his eyes was unmistakably fury, but a grim smile was set into his face. 

“He’s right, Daniel. It was all just a prank. I do apologize for how things got out of hand back there, Jack.”

“No worries, V-Man. I’ll just be sure to have another prank cooked up soon to get you back!” 

Then he ran downstairs to find Maddie, presumably to ask her about prank ideas. 

Vlad was still there. 

“A word, Daniel?” 

“Get away from me.”

Danny tried to push him away, but Vlad grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. Jack was gone already, so there was no one left behind to help. 

“You’re not going to tell anyone else about this,” Vlad hissed, his voice low and dangerous. “You have a chance to go home now, forget all this ever happened. I’ll let you. But tell anyone, and by god, you’ll regret it. It’ll be my word against yours, Daniel, and I wonder, who will they believe?” 

He gave him a moment to let that sink in, then released him, turned, and walked away. Stunned, Danny stayed silent for a moment, but as Vlad walked towards his office door, he realized with a jolt that he’d forgotten something.

Harriet. 

Danny stepped forward, but Vlad was already opening the door. Any second now, he was sure he’d hear yells and threats and whatever else… but nothing came. The office was empty, and Vlad stepped inside without a second thought. She must have gotten away. 

He’d also gotten away with something else: The book. It stayed safe under his hoodie, behind his back, unnoticed by Vlad. One way or another, he was sure it would come in handy. 

“C’mon, man,” he said quietly, looking to Phantom as he made himself visible. “Let’s get the hell out of here.” 

---

Harriet had forgotten the lockpick. 

It didn’t matter anymore. She could get another. There was something far more important she’d gained today, and that was the knowledge of whatever the hell had just happened. No one had noticed her peering around the edge of the doorway. Danny had been too preoccupied with knocking Vlad out with a book, Vlad had been too preoccupied with getting knocked out, and both of them had been too preoccupied with… glowing. 

She couldn’t explain what she had seen. 

A trick of the light? Her imagination? Maybe that would explain the glowing eyes, but it wouldn’t explain what the hell Danny was thinking, cutting his hand open and yelling at no one. If it had just been him, maybe she could dismiss it as one boy being deluded, but while hiding behind the door, she’d heard Vlad talking to… no one. To himself, or to someone- or some thing else? 

“Just lay low, and stop being so dramatic. It’s not like you’ve been exorcised. We’d be in far more trouble if you were.” 

In puzzling over this, Harriet’s mind drifted back to the book in Vlad’s office. Possessions, ghosts, demons… Was it possible that it wasn’t just fiction?

Maybe she hadn’t gained much evidence for the case of Benjamin Price. In trying, however, she’d stumbled onto something much bigger. Something much stranger. She couldn’t tell the newspaper about this, not yet. They’d only think she was crazy.

What she had to do now was continue on. Investigate more. Gather more evidence. 

The answers would reveal themselves soon enough. 

Chapter Text

Don’t blame me for your own failures, Vladimir. It’s your own fault you left a book that dangerous just lying around. 

“For the last time, I didn’t. It was supposed to be locked in my office. The boy must have broken in.” 

I admire his determination then, despite his many other flaws. 

“His spirit must have convinced him to do it. Why else would he think of breaking and entering?” 

The demon only shrugged, and returned to his previous activity of shredding old papers. Vlad watched him do it for a moment, annoyed, before returning to his spot by the window and sighing. 

“He’s… so misguided. Using a ritual like that? With no idea of its potential repercussions? It’s reckless. If he’d picked the wrong page, who knows what he could have done to himself? Or to me? ”

Don’t tell me you’re feeling sorry for him. I’m certainly not. 

“I’m not, ” Vlad snapped, putting his hand to his injured nose. “I just wonder what idiotic ideas Jack has been putting in his head. He’s so young, after all. What if all he needs is a teacher...?”

---

Danny sat on his bed, staring up at the ceiling aimlessly. Scattered all over the bedsheets around him were papers covered in notes, instructions for assignments, and whatever else he needed to face the mountain of homework he’d been avoiding. 

Homework. It felt ridiculous to be thinking about homework after everything that had just happened to him, but it wasn’t like he had much of a choice. His mark in science was hovering somewhere between a definitely failing and a probably failing, and he doubted his dreams of becoming an astronaut would hold up all that well with a big F on his report card. 

Better get going, he thought bitterly. This assignment isn’t gonna fail itself. 

As soon as he picked up the pencil, however, his phone started to ring. The pencil was quickly abandoned in favor of snatching the phone up right away. Hopefully it was Sam or Tucker- He was dying to have a friend to talk to. 

It wasn’t.

“Hello, Daniel,” said the voice on the other end of the line. 

Danny’s hopeful expression quickly turned to a scowl. 

“...Vlad. How did you get this number?”

“Your father thinks I could be your emergency contact. Isn’t that funny?” 

“I’m hanging up now.”

“Not so hasty, Daniel,” the voice cut in before he could hit end call. “You haven’t heard what I have to say.”

“Spit it out then.”

“Well, I just worry we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot. I wonder, why are we even fighting? We’re not so different, after all.”

Danny stared at the phone, hardly able to believe what he was hearing.

“...I seem to recall you trying to murder my dad. ”

“Bygones, bygones. Can’t we start fresh? After all, you’re new to this whole medium business. I’ve been doing it for twenty years. Don’t you think my expertise could be useful? I could teach you how better to cope with it. You could be my student.”

“You could fuck off.” 

“Language.” 

“No, fuck off. I don’t know what you’re playing at, fruitloop, but I’m not gonna be your pseudo-son. You can stay there alone in your stupid castle, keep your demon powers and murder attempts to yourself, and never talk to me or my family again.”

“Fine, Daniel, I’ll leave you be. Just know that being a medium isn’t all fun and games. When are you going to realize that you can’t take on the entire other side by yourself?”

Danny hung up.

Chapter Text

May 10

There are more ghosts in this world than I realized. 

---

Jazz Fenton was worried. To be fair, she was always worried, but right now she was specifically worried about Danny . 

Her brother was many things, and talkative had never been one of them. It wasn’t unusual for a teenage boy to hate being around his family members. Still, recently, she’d noticed a change. The dark circles under his eyes had become more and more obvious. He’d shrink away from the dinner table and lock himself in his room for the rest of the night. He’d mutter under his breath to himself, then act as if he hadn’t said a word. 

Not to mention the fact that he’d been found unconscious twice in the past couple of months. Was she really the only one still concerned about that?

Something was wrong. If her protective nature hadn’t let her know that, the fact that she had eyes would have. Everyone should’ve noticed.

And yet, no one did. 

Danny and Jazz had had more than a few fights over the years- (more like more than a dozen over the past semester ,) but she still cared. She didn’t want to just sit there and watch her little brother slip away into… whatever it was that he was going through. She wanted to help. 

If only she knew how. 

---

Casper High had a new guidance counselor. Everyone seemed to be aware of this fact, despite no one knowing where they’d heard that information in the first place. It seemed as obvious as the name of the principal or the science teacher.

The trouble came when someone actually wanted to talk to that guidance counselor. That was when they’d come upon an empty room with the old counselor’s name printed on it. She’d died the year before, and hadn’t yet been replaced. 

Of course. It had been in the news. How could they have forgotten?

So the student would forget whatever it was they’d wanted to talk to the counselor about in the first place. They’d pause, then continue on through the hallway, left with nothing but the strange feeling that something was missing. That something had been lost. 

No one stopped to consider that something might have been stolen. 

---

There was always a shadow out of the corner of Danny’s eye, but lately there’d been more than one. Since the first ghostly attack he’d experienced in the basement, Phantom had acted pretty effectively as ghost-repellent, but lately it seemed the local spirits were getting braver. He’d seen dozens of them lurking around corners or hiding in mirrors. He’d feel the occasional balled up paper or eraser thrown at his head and have no idea whether the bully responsible for it was from this world or the next. A couple of them had actually attacked- wires had shot out from a school computer and nearly strangled him to death before he’d managed to unplug the possessed device, and his locker kept slamming closed on his hand. The hand in question was badly bruised by now, but at least Phantom seemed to have scared away the spirit responsible for it before it could be broken. 

It was safe to say his nerves were fraying. 

“I feel like I’m going insane,” he mumbled, not for the first time, although this time it was to Phantom rather than about him. They were wandering down the school’s hallway on an alleged bathroom break from study hall, and while not many people were around, it wouldn’t have mattered too much to him if more people were. He’d started caring less and less whether anyone saw him talking to his ghostly friend. After all, people had believed he was a freak for years anyway. 

you’re not 

“Hopefully. I guess I’ll just have to get used to it, huh?” 

Phantom didn’t have a good response to that, so he stayed quiet. 

Danny’s eyes drifted to the wall, reading off the assorted posters on the walls and the names on the doors absentmindedly. A poster- Gardening club, after school on Thursdays! A door- Science Office. A poster- Spirit week assembly next Wednesday! A door- Do you really think you still deserve a place in this world, Ghost Boy? 

Danny blinked. What was that last one?

Penelope Spectra, Guidance Counselor. 

He’d seen this room before. It had always said that, just that, nothing else. Was he seeing things? Shaking his head, he sighed, then continued on through the hallway. He should probably go to study hall. His heart hadn’t been in it before, but maybe it would be good to find something to focus on. 

---

Time’s running out, Medium.

Danny’s eyes shot open. Where am I? He couldn’t breathe. Can’t breathe. Where am I? Darkness surrounded him like a heavy blanket that he couldn’t kick off, suffocating him and dragging him down. He clawed wildly at the void surrounding him, but rather than open air, his hands found soft soil. Enough digging and finally he managed to claw his way out, bursting out into open air with heaving, panicked breaths. WHERE AM I? 

Shakily, he managed to pull himself forward and up out of the hole, freeing his legs and kicking off the dirt that still clung to them. The sky above was dark, and although the night sky was usually a comforting sight, tonight it was empty of the stars Danny loved so much. He let himself fall backwards onto the soft earth, willing himself to stop panicking. 

I’m okay. I’m okay. I’m okay. 

But he wasn’t okay. He still hadn’t solved the one pressing question that repeated itself over and over in his mind. Where the hell am I?

He sat up, and saw his own name. Blinking, he tried to figure out what he was seeing, but despite being right in front of him, he couldn’t seem to comprehend it. 

Here lies Danny J. Fenton, 2004-2019. 

What?

Another blink, and suddenly the gravestone was gone, suddenly everything was gone, and he was falling, falling, upwards into the starless sky. The darkness was swallowing him up, his screams fading away and leaving him with only the knowledge that nobody could hear him, that nobody would ever hear him-

DANNY. WAKE UP. 

---

With a gasp, Danny sat up, instantly regretting it as his head collided with something hard. 

“OW.” The word was yelped by two voices simultaneously as Tucker recoiled back, his hand clutched to his forehead, and Danny fell over again, doing the same. 

“What the hell-” That was Tucker. 

“Danny!” That was Sam. “You were passed out on the floor. Again . What happened?” 

Danny was still finding it hard to breathe. “I don’t- I don’t know- ”

It felt as if he’d been thrown backwards into a freezing lake. All he could do was wrap his arms around himself like a shock blanket and shiver. He was so, so cold. It always felt a little like this whenever he had an encounter with a ghost, but never so badly, never like this. What had happened? 

...And where was Phantom? 

Finally getting his bearings, he realized that the three of them were in a broom closet. His friends must have dragged him in here after finding him to prevent anyone else from noticing. Danny felt a pang of gratitude, but his lingering panic made that gratitude a little hard to acknowledge. 

“I’m… I’m sorry. I’m okay. I’m okay.” 

Tucker’s brow furrowed with concern. He’d been annoyed about the head bump, but seeing the state his friend was in made the fading pain in his forehead feel a lot less important. “You don’t look okay.” 

“I’ll be fine, ” Danny snapped, then immediately regretted his tone. “Sorry. I just… I have no idea what that was. It was like being stuck in a nightmare.”

Sam and Tucker gave each other a look. 

“What?”

“Well…” Sam looked at him, looking uneasy. “I know ghost stuff happens to you a lot, but for once, you’re not alone in this.” 

“What?”  

“Yeah,” Tucker cut in. “The school nurse has no idea what to do. Probably twenty other people today have passed out as well, and woken up screaming because of something horrible. Whatever this is, it’s not just happening to you.” 

not just us, mumbled the familiar voice in Danny’s head. 

He didn’t hesitate to answer. Sam and Tucker were used to this sort of thing by now. “Phantom? Did you see something like that too?” 

i’ll tell you later, he said, then went silent. 

Danny frowned. “This is beyond weird. I mean, I know I’m haunted, but everyone else? I’m not sure if that makes me feel better or worse.” 

“Well,” Sam started reluctantly, “Whatever this is, I doubt it’s over yet. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens next.” 

---

Jazz didn’t mean to pry, but Danny’s door had been open, and the open book on his desk looked weird enough to warrant a closer look. It didn’t seem to have a title on the cover or the spine, only intricate runes, markings and drawings that seemed to mean something Jazz couldn’t understand. More importantly, the page it was opened to- Banishment? - seemed to be stained with several droplets of blood. 

...That isn’t good. 

This sort of thing wouldn’t be anything special in their parents’ room, but in Danny’s room? This was the last place she’d expect to find something like this. He hated the idea of ghosts, didn’t he? What was he doing with something like this? 

There seemed to be notes scribbled in the margins of each page, but the handwriting didn’t look like Danny’s. Danny’s was a messy cursive, while this writing was a lot more elegant, except for the occasional feverish scrawl that looked far messier than either of the other writing styles. Jazz flipped through the pages, growing more confused each sentence she read. 

‘A possibility?’ was written neatly on a page that was labeled Exorcisms. ‘KEEP DREAMING,’ was written directly under it. She wasn’t quite sure what that was supposed to mean. There was another page that seemed to be about binding spirits to objects. Several lines on the page were highlighted- whoever had owned this book before Danny clearly thought this was important. This particular page seemed vaguely familiar- Hadn’t her mom told her about something similar a while back? Maybe she should ask about it. It wasn’t like she believed in this sort of stuff, but there was clearly a mystery in these pages, and she couldn’t resist a good excuse to do extracurricular research. She pulled out her phone, snapped a quick picture of the highlighted page, then left the room. 

Chapter Text

i wasn’t always like this.

i wonder

what was i like before? 

---

A boy stood in front of a mirror, wondering why the reflection in front of him felt so alien. 

His hair was light, a blonde so pale that it looked white. He remembered being teased, a familiar, faceless figure commenting on how he must be going gray early. They’d laughed, and he’d laughed along. Who had that been, again? Their face was blurred in his mind, like a polaroid picture that hadn’t come out quite right. 

His eyes were green. They were striking, vivid, to the point where some said it made him look creepy. He couldn’t remember their faces, just the hollow feeling in his chest that the words had evoked. That wasn’t the only trait that people had found unsettling, but it was the one most easy to describe. 

He had a spattering of freckles across his nose and cheeks. That was something about himself that he’d liked, he remembered. They reminded him of stars. He’d always liked the night sky. Something about it had always made him imagine a world where he could fly away from it all, find a home in the stars instead of on the ground with everyone else. 

Something was missing. 

He stared at the reflection for a long time, trying to place what about it looked so wrong . It must be the right one, he figured. It was there , wasn’t it? Reflections weren’t something you could swap around or change. The boy in the mirror was him. It must be. 

So why didn’t he recognize him?

Something was wrong. 

There was a mirror in the room. What else was there?

Anytime he tried to look away, he found himself looking back at the boy who could only be himself once again. Behind him. Beside him. Above. All around him, the same identical face that was his but wasn’t, that was so familiar yet unrecognizable at the same time. 

What was his name, again…?

my name 

is

The thought snatched itself from his mind as the scene around him, the faces, the mirrors, all started to melt away. Something was casting a shadow, and that shadow was sweeping up all around him, obscuring his vision, his self, everything about him and his unrecognizable familiarity, all gone, gone, gone. He could hear someone calling out, screaming for help, and he realized with a jolt that the voice was his . 

Why was he screaming?

What had happened to him?

Why couldn’t he remember the face he’d seen in the mirror?

There was someone else there.

You’re both torn between worlds, someone new whispered in a voice that felt like a too-tight embrace. Don’t you know you don’t belong in either? 

With a gasp- unusual for him since he didn’t need to breathe- Phantom’s eyes shot open. Already the memories of what had just happened were slipping away from him, even as he tried in vain to cling to them, to keep them from slipping through his shadowy fingers. He’d seen someone that could have only been him, but when he tried to reconjure the image of that face he'd seen in the mirror he found it wiped from his mind, like someone had gone through the pages of the story of his life and redacted everything with black sharpie. 

It was gone.

He felt the strange urge to cry. He’d lost something important, hadn’t he? But he wasn’t sure he could cry anymore, and whatever it was he’d lost had been gone for a long time now. What was there left to mourn? 

everything, he thought with a bitterness he hadn’t felt in a while. everything.

---

Danny stared. Phantom’s explanation had been disjointed, brief, and a little hard to follow, but he got the gist of it, and that was that both of them had been affected by whatever had just happened. The confusing part was this: Phantom was a ghost. Why had he been hit with a hallucination that was affecting humans?  

ghosts don’t sleep, he explained, flying slowly around Danny’s room like agitated pacing. ghosts don’t dream. it doesn’t make sense. 

Sam and Tucker hadn’t come with. They’d wanted to, but Phantom didn’t seem to want to have a conversation this long with other people around, so Danny had promised to meet up with them later. It was just him, sitting on his bedroom’s desk chair, and Phantom, pacing around midair. 

humans dream

i’m not human

so what 

was

that?

“Well…” Danny hesitated a moment. “Maybe it has something to do with me.” 

you?

“I mean, lately I’ve been feeling more… ghostly. Sam and Tucker have noticed it too. Apparently my eyes have made the occasional habit of randomly starting to glow . What if the same goes for you?”

Phantom tilted his head slightly, not understanding. 

“What if being stuck with me has made you, I don’t know… A little more human?” 

more human

“Yeah.”

Phantom didn’t quite know how to react. It made sense, but he couldn’t seem to wrap his mind around it. He’d called the pact a second chance, sure, but he didn’t really think that made him human. He was a spirit that was a little stronger, that could interact with the living world in a way that other ghosts couldn’t, but his humanity had always felt like a faraway, missing thing that he’d never get back. That was the truth, after all. Soulbindings made ghosts stronger, but it didn’t bring them back to life. 

But maybe… 

Maybe some of the missing pieces of himself wouldn’t be missing forever. 

Chapter Text

May 11

Someone tell Jazz to stop going through my stuff. If you’re reading this, Jazz, STOP SNOOPING.

...I really hope she hasn’t read this. 

---

Jazz’s opinion of ghosts had always been that they were humanity’s fictional coping method for loss. No one wanted to believe that their loved ones were gone for good, so this was their idea of where those loved ones had ended up, however morbid that may be. Alternatively, ghosts could symbolize a societal fear of death, replacing an acknowledgement of that fear with a scary face to visualize in the darkness after you turn off the lights at night. Whichever psychological explanation for this belief applied to her parents, it wasn’t a belief Jazz shared. Unlike Danny’s angry rejection of their parents’ “bullshit,” (his words, not hers,) Jazz’s disbelief was purely logical. A psychological explanation made far more sense to her than any sort of truly paranormal claim. 

...And yet, here she was, researching her brother’s least favorite pseudoscience. 

It wasn’t like her opinions had changed. She just felt like it could be interesting to get into the mindset of whoever had scrawled those strange notes through Danny’s book, not to mention getting to the bottom of why Danny had that book in the first place. She’d asked her mom about the contents of that highlighted page, binding ghosts to objects, but she hadn’t gotten an answer. Well, she did get an answer, but it was long, rambly, and made absolutely no sense to someone who wasn’t familiar with ghosthunter terminology. In the end, Maddie had given her a ruby pendant to “protect her from evil spirits,” a sensor for detecting cold spots, and something called a “spirit box,” which was supposed to let her talk to ghosts. “But if you run into a demon,” Maddie had added very seriously, “Don’t talk to it. Just get out of there.” Then she’d left to make a house call to a couple that claimed their dead grandma was haunting their attic. 

So here Jazz was, sitting at the kitchen table with the sensor, the spirit box, and her laptop, reading articles on obscure ghosthunting websites. She was starting to feel a little silly, but she didn’t believe in giving up on things before she’d even started. 

I’ll just use this thing one time, she decided, Call it a learning experience, then cut it out. 

The spirit box worked by sifting through radio channels at a rapid pace. Apparently, ghosts could talk to the living through manipulation of the static it produced. It was awfully loud, the flickering static already starting to give her a headache, but she figured she better leave it on for a few more minutes to see if anything happened. 

Nothing happened. 

All there was was a loud, annoying static. She stared at it, growing increasingly annoyed at the repetitive sound, and was about to turn it off when Danny walked in. 

The first thing she noticed was the cold spot sensor. There was a line over the screen indicating the consistent temperature. Well, it was consistent, but when Danny entered the room Jazz couldn’t help but notice the line dip sharply down. 

The second thing she noticed was his expression. It didn’t come as a surprise, though- He was clearly annoyed, and she didn’t blame him. The spirit box was making a racket. 

“Can you turn that thing off?” he asked, his tone implying that he’d already been covering his ears with a pillow for several minutes. “It’s really annoying.” 

so annoying, came an echoing voice from the box. turn it off. 

Jazz’s eyes went wide. Did the box just…?

“Did you hear that?” 

Danny hadn’t reacted to the box, but upon hearing Jazz’s reaction, his eyes went wide as well. The box had already gone back to static, but neither of them could deny what they’d both just heard. Danny had turned his head and was staring in shock at a point somewhere beside him, almost as if there was someone there staring back. It was such a direct stare that Jazz turned her head as well, expecting to see one of their parents, but no one was there. He was staring at nothing. 

“Danny,” Jazz asked gently, “Are you alright?”

Then the spirit box turned off. 

Jazz reached for it, wondering if she’d hit the off button by accident somehow. “Ack! Stupid thing!” 

Pressing the on and off button did nothing. It remained off, the noise gone. Jazz looked back up at Danny, hoping to talk about what had just happened, but he had already turned around.

“Danny-”

“It’s nothing, I- I just hate this stupid stuff,” he lied, unable to mask the confusion in his tone. “Put it away, will you?”

She didn’t get a chance to reply as he raced away from her up the stairs, but even after he slammed the door to his room, she could have sworn she heard his muffled voice talking to someone she couldn’t see. 

All this time, she’d assumed that Danny was having some sort of mental breakdown. She thought it must have been school stress catching up to him, or bullies, or his anxiety acting up again. She worried it might have been something even worse, especially with Danny’s recent tendency of passing out on floors. There were dozens of potential explanations she’d cycled through in trying to solve this mystery, but never had she paused to consider that the answer might be staring her right in the face. It was all around her, taking up her parents’ attention near-constantly and consuming her entire basement. Ghosts . 

It was unbelievable. It was ridiculous. She felt like an idiot, sitting here at her kitchen table with a box that made noises and an overdramatic thermometer. 

And yet…

She stared down at the ruby pendant she’d been given, swallowed her pride, and put it on. If what she thought was happening now was really happening, her family would need all the protection it could get. 

Chapter Text

…

---

When are you going to realize how worthless you are?

Danny woke up, once again, with a gasp. Since whatever had happened at school earlier that week, nightmares had started to plague him each night. He’d had frequent nightmares already, but recently they’d started growing worse, more intense, more specific. Last night he’d been dying, but anyone he begged to call an ambulance, to help, anything, just turned away and ignored him. It wasn’t real, he knew that, but that didn’t fix the pit of dread that had opened up in his chest and remained there well after sunrise. 

As he reluctantly left his bed and started to get ready for school, the word worthless continued to echo through his head. 

Lately, Phantom hadn’t been doing much better. As terrifying as it had been, he felt a sort of longing to see that strange vision again, to know something, anything, about who he used to be. He hadn’t gotten his wish, though. That overpowering malevolent presence he felt hadn’t left, (in fact, it had gotten stronger,) but it hadn’t given him another vision. When he closed his eyes, all he saw was static. 

Neither of them were okay. 

“I feel so… empty,” Danny muttered to Phantom as he stared at the breakfast he wasn’t going to eat. “All the time. I don’t know why.” 

Phantom made a small noise that was probably agreement, but didn’t say any more than that. 

“Danny?”

Danny looked up. Standing there were his parents, staring at him with looks of concern and hesitation. He knew those looks- They wanted to talk to him about something, and whatever it was, it wasn’t going to be a conversation he’d enjoy. 

“...Yeah?”

“We just wanted to talk to you about something,” said Maddie, tentatively. 

Oh boy.

“Uh, what is it?” 

Jack cut in. “We’re offering to smash any ghost that’s bothering you, son.”

Phantom, who had been watching quietly from the corner, vanished. 

“Jack!” Maddie shot him a meaningful look, then turned back to Danny. “We were just… worried. After what happened on Monday, you can see why we’d be concerned, right?” 

“They said it was a gas leak,” Danny reminded them, fighting to keep his tone even. The explanation was bullshit, sure, but his parents didn’t need to know that. “They gave us the rest of the day off school while they investigated, remember? It wasn’t just me.” 

“That’s what they said ,” Maddie countered, “But they also said that they couldn’t find any evidence of a leak besides the hallucinations. Don’t you think the true reason for it could be something a little more supernatural?” 

Yes, Danny thought. “No,” he said. 

“I know you think this sort of stuff is silly,” Maddie said with a sigh, “But we take it seriously. If there’s any chance it could be some sort of ghost or demon that’s been bothering you lately, we can help you get rid of it. You don’t need to go through it alone.” 

“Don’t worry, son!” Jack grinned. “We can exorcise that ghost for you in a jiffy. It won’t hurt at all, either! Just five minutes, and that pesky ghost is gone forever.”

What should’ve been comforting words hit Danny like a strike to the face. He flinched back, leaving his untouched cereal on the table and picking up his backpack from the floor. 

“Don’t you dare,” he snapped. “No way in hell am I letting you anywhere near me with one of those creepy rituals of yours. I’m sorry, Mom and Dad, but no way.”

His parents looked like they’d been slapped. Danny couldn’t help but feel a little pang of guilt, but his fear for Phantom’s safety overwhelmed that tenfold. He’d never believed in his parents’ exorcisms, but he’d never believed in ghosts before meeting Phantom, either. There was too much at stake to risk finding out if it was real.

“Danny-”

“I’m going to school. Just… drop it. Please.” 

He was so grounded, but he’d rather be grounded than exorcised. Taking his backpack with him, he dashed out the door, and slammed it behind him. 

“I’m sorry,” he muttered quietly as he ran, hoping that Phantom could hear. “I’m sorry.” 

---

In the darkness of that abandoned office, something was taking shape. 

A girl was starting to hate her appearance. A boy’s fear of failing his classes were starting to overwhelm him. A certain medium was starting to wonder if when he’d set one foot in another world, he’d lost his place in both. 

Wonderful. 

---

Jazz was as worried about Danny as ever, but she’d been forced to push her worries to the backseat for a little while as she helped with preparations for the Spirit Day assembly. It had been pushed back to tomorrow after… whatever it was that had happened on Monday, but it was going on nonetheless, and she needed to practice her speech. With everything that had happened lately, it felt like everyone was in dire need of some spirit. 

She had this period free, and she was spending it walking through the halls, quietly rehearsing. It helped a little to keep moving. 

“...And so, I hope you all can join me in putting the “I” back in spirit-” 

Jasmine. 

Jazz froze. She’d nearly walked into the door of the guidance counselor’s office. Relieved that she’d escaped the embarrassment, she looked around to thank whoever had warned her, only to realize that the hallway was completely empty.

“...Huh.”

Maybe she should’ve shrugged it off and kept walking, but something strange in the back of her head made her pause. Guidance counselor, huh…? Seems like the sort of faculty member she’d know. Strangely enough- She couldn’t recall ever speaking to her. Maybe she should stop by to say hello. 

She opened the door, then glanced inside. The lights were off, but she swore she saw someone standing there, facing the window. Some sort of meditation, maybe?

“Um, hello! I’m Jazz Fenton, and I was wondering-”

I know. 

The voice sounded female, unfamiliar, and… strangely disembodied. Like it was being broadcast straight into her head rather than coming from across the room. 

“...What?”

Come on in, will you?

Jazz wasn’t stupid. She wasn’t sure what it was, but something about this whole situation seemed very wrong . She backed up slightly, forcing an apologetic smile onto her face.

“Actually, my spare’s about to end, I better head to my next class-” 

An invisible force pushed her forward, and the door slammed behind her. There was no curtain over the window, so the light should’ve been spilling in- but it wasn’t. Aside from the sky blue square of light on the opposite side of the room, partially obscured by the motionless figure, she found herself cloaked in impossible, absolute darkness. 

You’ve got a strong mind, Jasmine. You’re smart, observant, curious. Maybe too curious, but we all have our vices. I wonder if you’d be interested in an internship?

Jazz couldn’t believe what she was hearing. What kind of job interview was this? An audition for the role of murder victim?   “Who are you?” 

Penelope Spectra. I’ve been here a while, but I don’t blame you for not having heard of me. I love my job, sure, but I feel like it’d be easier with an assistant. Are you interested?

“I’m sorry Miss, but no way . Who do you think you are? Locking someone in a room and expecting them to want to work for you? I’d like to leave- ” 

Shame. Here I was thinking you actually wanted to help your brother. 

Jazz, who had been reaching for the doorknob, froze. 

“...What did you just say?”

He’s hurting, you know. Feels the world is up against him. I could help you help him, if you’d let me. Together we’d be able to help anybody we wanted to. 

“I- I-”

Think about it.

The lights turned on, and suddenly Jazz was…

...In a janitor’s closet. 

“What the…” 

The door opened suddenly, and there was the janitor, looking confused. 

“Um…”

There was an awkward pause for a moment as the two stood there, staring at each other, Jazz clutching her ruby pendant and the janitor clutching his mop, until Jazz finally broke free from her shocked silence.

“Sorry! Sorry, I was just… I’ll get out of your way.” 

She ran past him, off towards… she wasn’t sure. Something. Someone. Her mind raced with the possibilities of what could have just happened, and it couldn’t seem to come to a conclusion. That wasn’t a dream. It couldn’t have been. First of all, she’d never fall asleep while rehearsing a speech, and second… It had been so real. 

There was only one person who might be able to give her some insight, she realized. Only one person who might be able to come up with any sort of explanation. 

Danny.

...After class. She’d find him after class. AP history was next, and she wasn’t going to miss any notes. But after that, she’d finally ask him the question. 

What do you know about ghosts?

---

“Dude, talk to me.” 

Danny was staring into the school washroom’s mirror. No one was in here, thank god, leaving only him and Phantom… presumably. The ghost hadn’t shown his face all day, not since that morning, and Danny was beginning to feel a little nervous. Maybe ditching class to try to talk to a ghost wasn’t his smartest move, but it wasn’t like he’d be able to focus on physics right now anyway. Besides, after class he’d have to go home, and at home were two parents who would gladly see his ghostly friend destroyed, no matter what he said to try to convince them otherwise. No, this conversation had to happen now.

“I know you’re scared, Phantom. It’s practically radiating off you. And yeah, me too. I’m pretty fucking freaked out.” 

not helpful 

Danny sighed, half in frustration and half in relief.

“There he is.” 

hi

Phantom wasn’t visible in the room, but Danny could see him in the mirror’s reflection, sulking somewhere behind him. 

“Look… what I was gonna say is yes, I’m scared, but I also know we don’t have to be. I’m not letting them hurt you.” 

how do you know they won’t anyway 

“‘Cause I’ve been dealing with their bullshit all my life. I know how to avoid them if I need to. Just… you don’t have to hide from me, okay? I’m on your side.” 

Phantom didn’t say anything in response, but the anxiety in the room seemed to subside. 

Until it spiked again.

“Hey- what’s wrong? I swear, you’re safe-”

it’s not them 

“What?”

it’s-

get outside 

GET OUTSIDE

GETOUTSIDEGETOUTSIDEGETOUTSIDEGETOUT-

The lights went dark. 

Everything went dark.

Chapter Text

May 14

…

---

Spirit Day was the last thing on Jazz’s mind today. Speech or no speech, something far more important had been occupying her thoughts.

Danny hadn’t come home last night. 

Neither had at least twenty other students. The current theory was some sort of party gone wrong- Why else would so many students go missing at the exact same time? Of course, parents were terrified, of course, police were looking into it, of course, the Fentons were already out searching for Danny themselves, but surely they’d all be home soon. Surely there was a reasonable explanation. 

Jazz didn’t buy it. 

There was something targeting students, and she wasn’t entirely convinced that it was human. She was going to school today, but it wasn’t to do her speech. It was to make a visit.

Whatever that “guidance counselor” was, Jazz was going to find out what she knew. 

She was just about to leave home when there was a knock on the door. Quickly, she rushed to open it, maybe it was-

“Danny?”

Oh.

It was Sam and Tucker, looking just as worried as she felt. 

“Uh, hey, you two. You haven’t heard from Danny, have you?”

“We were just about to ask you the same thing,” Sam sighed. “He hasn’t been answering any texts.”

“We’ve looked everywhere,” Tucker added. “It’s like he just disappeared.”

The two exchanged a meaningful look. 

Jazz raised an eyebrow.  “I’d been meaning to ask… Danny’s been acting pretty strange lately. You don’t happen to know anything about that, do you?”

“Uh… We…”

Sam clapped a hand over Tucker’s mouth. “We don’t know anything.” 

Jazz couldn’t help but notice Sam’s eyes drifting to the sign her parents had put beside the door, advertising their business. Fenton & Fenton, Paranormal Consultants. 

...They definitely know something. 

“You know, I’m not my parents. I might be able to actually help.”

“I don’t think sisterly advice is what Danny really needs right now,” Tucker said, pushing Sam’s hand away from his face. “But thanks anyway.” 

They turned and left, leaving Jazz standing dejectedly in the doorway. After a pause, she reached down and pulled her phone out of her pocket, then flipped through her pictures. She hadn’t taken any new ones since the one she took the other day. The picture of the page in that book. 

Maybe advice wasn’t what Danny needed, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t help. 

---

Danny woke up. 

The first thing he noticed was pure absence . Of light, of people, of anything. Even Phantom wasn’t there. While the spirit often disappeared during the day, Danny could always feel a connection to him, like a string tied between them. This was different. He was just… gone. Like he’d never been there in the first place. 

It felt like Danny was missing a piece of himself. 

The floor beneath him was tile, but beyond that, he couldn’t sense any detail about the room he was in. Surrounding him was nothing but complete, inky darkness, featureless as a starless sky. He could see nothing but black, feel nothing but tile, and he was utterly, completely alone.

...Until he saw the bodies. 

At first they were just shapes in the darkness, until he crept closer and realized he recognized them. Dash, Paulina, Kwan, Star, and several other students he’d seen around but didn’t know the names of. They lay there on the floor, completely and utterly motionless. 

“Hello…?”

Nothing. 

“Hey, wake up. We need to get out of here.”

No response. He lifted a shaking hand and reached hesitantly towards Kwan’s wrist, trying to check if he was… if they were…

What a worthless medium you are. The only one who can save them, and you never even tried. 

Danny froze. The voice was familiar- There was no mistaking it. This was the voice he kept hearing in his nightmares. Every night, every night, every night. Maybe that should’ve comforted him a little, maybe it meant that this was just another nightmare, and he’d wake up back in bed, shaken but safe… but something about this felt different. More solid. More real. 

Oh, no. You’re not dreaming, Ghost Boy. 

The bodies melted into the floor, and Danny jumped back, scrambling to his feet. He swung around, trying to locate the source of the voice, but he could see nothing. 

“Who are you?”

You could say I’m part of everybody. 

“Tell me they’re alive. Tell me you didn’t kill them.”

Now what would I gain from telling you that? 

All I’ll tell you is that they weren’t strong enough. None of them were right for the job. 

The voice went quiet after that, so Danny took off running into the darkness. He’d forgotten his pocket knife in his locker- what an idiot - and he wasn’t sure the words for banishment would work without Phantom here, anyway. He had to find him. He must be around here somewhere, right…?

There was somebody standing in the darkness in front of him. Danny slid to a stop. “Phantom?”

It wasn’t Phantom. It was… Sam?

It was Sam, but it wasn’t. It was Sam but empty, but wrong, Sam without the Sam-ness, a creature wearing Sam’s face. Her eyes were a glittering red, and they looked less like the eyes of a friend and more like the eyes of a predator. She was smiling. 

“No one understands you, not really.” She began to creep forward, and Danny took a step back. “They think you’re losing it. Who knows, maybe you are…?”

Before Danny could respond, the creature shifted, its face morphing from Sam’s to Tucker’s. His grin stretched wider. “I think you know that, too. I think you know that there’s nowhere, nowhere you belong anymore. Nowhere at all for a creature like you.” He tilted his head. “Not human, not ghost… not even a good medium. You don’t seem to be good for much of anything.” 

“Get away from me-”

“Do you want to know the honest truth? Even I don’t really need you. No- Your soul is already tied to somebody.”

There he was, finally. Phantom. Danny felt the connection now, but it was weak, wavering. He could see him, but barely. The outline of his ghostly form, floating there in the darkness behind the creature that was not Tucker like a half-deflated balloon, limp, lifeless. His green eyes staring out into nothing, unblinking. The creature let him run past it to get to him, but when he reached out to try to touch Phantom’s shoulder, to wake him up, to do anything- his hand went straight through him. It was like he wasn’t even there. 

The creature turned, head moving slightly before body, and there it was, right behind Danny once more. He turned to face it and raised his arms, standing in front of Phantom like a sort of human shield, as if that would do anything. The thing that was not Tucker’s smile was even wider, wider than it should be, wider than what was physically possible. And then it wasn’t not-Tucker anymore. For a moment, the thing didn’t seem to be anybody, just a shifting mass of features, unrecognizable aside from its glowing red eyes. 

“No, you’re of no use for a pact, not anymore. I only need you for one thing.” 

It shifted. It formed. 

It was Jazz. 

It smiled. 

“Bait.” 

---

Jazz would never have believed you if you’d told her last week that she’d be abandoning her Spirit Day speech to break into the guidance counselor’s office, but here she was. She’d be lying if she said she felt no remorse over it- She felt a whole lot of remorse over it, Mr. Lancer was going to be furious - but her brother was far more important to her than some speech. Sometimes sacrifices had to be made. 

She was doing this. That, however, didn’t mean she had no doubts. 

The whole thing was insane. For all she knew, it was just her parents’ nuttiness rubbing off on her. Had she actually spoken to Spectra at all? Was any of this even real, or was she just abandoning an extracurricular commitment to walk into an empty office while Danny was off experiencing the aftermath of some wild party?

...No, Danny never went to parties, and she wasn’t imagining things. Maybe there was some sort of elaborate prank going on, but she believed in her own senses. Something was going on, and she was going to find out what. 

Jazz took a deep breath, braced herself, then opened the door.

Nothing but inky blackness awaited her inside. Not the faint light from the window, not even light pouring inside from the hallway she stood. It was just nothing, as if someone had placed a vantablack curtain over the doorway. 

She stepped inside. 

“Spectra. I’m here to talk to you.” 

Finally. 

The door shut behind her. 

---

Danny couldn’t breathe. 

It was like a pair of cold, invisible hands had clamped themselves over his throat and refused to let go. The feeling had crept up on him slowly at first, but the harder he tried to wake Phantom, the longer he spent in whatever the hell this place was, the more he felt like his time was running out. He was on his knees now, and it felt like dying all over again, slowly, painfully. As horrible as it was, however, he wasn’t passing out. It was as if his consciousness was stubbornly hanging on… No, more like someone else was holding it there by force. He was trapped there, between life and death, consciousness and unconsciousness, ghost and human. Unable to move on. Unable to let go. If Hell existed, this was it. 

Let me go, he thought, because he couldn’t speak. 

The creature didn’t even bother responding. It seemed its attention was focused elsewhere. 

Since Phantom had entered his life, Danny had always felt the eerie feeling of being followed. With that gone, he felt utterly, completely alone. 

Until he wasn’t.

Someone new had entered the void. Danny’s first assumption was that it must be another trick, but there was a sense of solidity in the figure growing closer that the creature lacked. This wasn’t a corpse, or a trick, or an illusion. This was real. 

This was Jazz. 

The control over him waned suddenly, long enough for him to gasp “No,” before its hold multiplied tenfold, sending him doubling over in pain.  

She was getting closer, but then she wasn’t. Something about the space they were trapped in was shifting, changing. The world was starting to blur-

---

Jazz was standing in an office. For a moment there the space had seemed infinite, and she could’ve sworn she’d seen the shapes of figures in the darkness- But then the lights turned on, and she was here. 

The room was far too small for the amount of time she’d spent walking in it. 

Welcome back, said the familiar voice. 

She could see where it was coming from, now. A redheaded woman was sitting facing away from her, on top of a desk. It was hard to describe, but something about the world seemed a little… grainy, like she was watching a home video from a 2004 camcorder. Maybe Jazz needed to get her eyes checked. 

Have you reconsidered my job offer?

“Well, I had a few questions first,” Jazz replied, fighting to keep her voice steady. “What exactly would the job entail?”

Well... the woman paused a moment, seeming like she was choosing her words carefully. She still hadn’t turned around. You’d help me, and all I really want to do is help the world. 

I’m just missing the resources to do it. 

She paused. Her head tilted slightly.

Have you ever wondered what someone’s thinking? Ever known that if you could just figure out what makes someone tick, what they’re hiding from you, you’d be able to help them out? 

Jazz couldn’t deny that she had. A certain brother of hers came to mind. 

You want to help him, don’t you? 

“...How do you know that?”

I know everything, Jasmine. I know everyone. If you’d give me a chance, I could give that knowledge to you. 

Jazz had had enough. Gritting her teeth, she strode forward towards the desk. 

“If you knew everything, you’d know I go by Jazz.”

The woman hadn’t turned around. Jazz reached out. 

“You’d also know where Danny is.”

She grabbed her by the shoulder. 

“So where is he?” 

Penelope Spectra turned around to face her.

And it… was horrifying. 

There was something unfathomable about the face Jazz looked into now. Something indescribable. It was like it was every face and no face at all, shifting, glitching like a failed neural network’s approximation of what a human might look like, but not quite. And in between those shifting approximations, she could see flashes of something underneath. Something dead. Something with eyes that had rotted out long ago, flashes of rot and gore and decay, something that filled her with such visceral horror that she released her shoulder, staggering back before tripping over a chair that had not been there before and landing backwards onto the cold tiled ground. 

The thing tilted its head, and she heard an audible crack. It was every face and no face, nothing and everything, alive and so, so dead.

and it

was smiling at her. 

---

There’s something eerie about standing in your school when nobody else is there. It’s such a familiar place, but it’s missing all the aspects of it that make it familiar, that make it safe. It’s like a hollowed out shell. 

This is where Danny stood now. 

He could breathe now, but he was certain he wasn’t safe. No, the entity wasn’t done with him, he was sure of that. It had only taken its focus away. Something about that was somehow worse. At least before he could see it, he could know where it was. Now, it was elsewhere in this vast mindscape, and it was focused on tormenting somebody else.

Jazz.

He needed to find her. He needed to find Phantom. He needed to find somebody, anybody, that could help them all out of here. 

Outside the windows, everything was void. 

you’ve gotta get outta here, something whispered. 

Danny whipped around. The voice was like Phantom’s, but different- a different voice, with the same ethereal filter slapped over it. Standing there was a boy Danny hadn’t seen before. He was dressed in a bowtie and glasses, with neatly combed black hair. His eyes were…

...entirely missing. 

Somehow, Danny wasn’t surprised. 

The boy flickered like a film strip of an old video. One moment he was standing there, another he was floating, features obscured completely in shadows before he suddenly shifted back into his more humanlike self. In those brief shadowy moments, however, Danny couldn’t help but stare- just for a moment, he looked almost exactly like Phantom. He wasn’t Phantom- Phantom’s eyes glowed green and this spirit had no eyes at all, not to mention the fact that this boy was shorter and thinner than Phantom typically was, but they were clearly similar to one another. 

“You’re not human, are you…?”

you should know better than anybody that humans aren’t the only ones she can trap in here.

Danny wasn’t sure how to proceed. Aside from Phantom, he hadn’t had a single positive interaction with a ghost before. For all he knew, the spirit was about to surge forward and attack him, to try to steal his life for himself. However, all the boy did was stand there. In his features, Danny couldn’t sense any malice. Only sadness, and surprisingly, a little bit of guilt. 

i’m sorry 

“For what?”

i hurt you with the locker door the other day. i was just… angry… but i guess the real bully here was me.

An apology? That was… new. 

“Uh… It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

There was a pause for a moment, before the spirit spoke up again. 

i know where he is. 

“Who?”

the ghost you made your pact with. i know where she’s keeping him. 

Now, trusting a ghost didn’t seem like a good idea. Maybe this was just another part of the entity’s trap. Maybe he’d just lead him towards some new, awful hallucination that he wouldn’t be able to escape from.

...On the other hand, she could probably do that anyway, no matter what he did. The only thing keeping him safe was the fact that she didn’t care what he was doing right now. Plus, it wasn’t like he had any other options. 

“Can you lead the way?” 

---

A boy stood in a science lab, staring transfixed into the mirror above the sink. It felt like he hadn’t seen his face in a very, very long time. There was a scar above his eyebrow from that time he’d been shoved down the stairs by someone who didn’t like him for reasons he’d never really understood. At the time, he’d wanted to just forget it, but remembering it now felt like a lifeline connecting him to who he once was, and he was holding onto it desperately. Remembering it made him feel solid, made him feel real . It wasn’t the face of the attacker he remembered, the cruel words, the awful smile- but his father’s concern when the doctor said he’d need stitches, the way he’d held him and tried not to cry, the way he’d apologized as if it had somehow been his fault, the way he’d taken him out for ice cream afterwards, trying to make it all better. It had. It had.

He remembered his father. 

He remembered his father. 

Somehow he knew that the moment he looked away from the mirror, the memories would fade away just like the scar on his forehead would fade back into shadows. Somehow he knew this wasn’t real. But he held onto it regardless, desperately, desperately.

What had happened to him?

What had turned him to this?

He realized he was crying, but he couldn’t quite remember why. 

---

“That’s… him?” 

Danny stood in the doorway to the science lab, the strange ghost standing beside him. There was a boy in the science lab, staring into the mirror, and Danny had no idea who he was.

Not until he shifted. 

He was solid, he was real, and then he wasn’t. For just a moment, he was the shadowy, ethereal form of the familiar ghost Danny had grown to care about so much. But the moment ended quickly, and then he was solid again, then he was a stranger again. 

“Phantom…?”

“No…”

“Phantom, it’s me. It’s Danny.”

“N- o, no- 

His form was flickering more rapidly now. Danny could see him grip the sides of the mirror with shaking hands, as if he were holding on for dear life. As if turning around meant the end. 

don’t m- don’t- Make me forget again-” 

i don’t

want

to forget

again.” 

Phantom was the last few flames of a bonfire struggling against the wind. He was the static on a TV that wouldn’t quite turn off. He was the film photo accidentally exposed to light too soon. He was desperate. He was fading.

And Danny had no idea what to do. 

“...Tell me what you remember,” he finally said, reaching a tentative hand out towards Phantom’s shoulder. “I’m here for you, okay?”

Phantom’s shoulders remained tense, but they slowly stopped shaking as Danny placed a hand there. He hesitated, slightly loosening his grip on the mirror’s sides. 

“My… My dad. I remember my dad.” 

Danny froze. He hadn’t considered that Phantom might have living relatives. This whole time…

“...What was his name?”

“I…”

He flickered. Just like that, he was ghostly again.

i don’t remember

His form solidified a few times, but just as quickly lost its shape. He was more ghost than human now. More gone than here. 

...this isn’t real

is it? 

He finally turned around. The human in him was gone completely now, and Danny had never even gotten to see his face. 

“...I’m sorry, man.” 

Phantom was silent for a long, agonizing moment, before he screwed up his glowing eyes and threw his semitransparent arms around Danny, hugging him tightly as his body shook with silent sobs. Danny’s emotions were tearing themselves in two, one part relief that Phantom was truly back and one part pure devastation as Phantom’s human memories had slipped away once again. Phantom’s emotions often affected his own, but that wouldn’t have mattered now. He didn’t need a psychic link to tell how much his friend was hurting. 

Hugging a ghost was a little like hugging a cloud, but they managed. 

It was a few moments before he realized the other ghost was still there. He was standing back in the hallway, his head turned to the side. Danny turned back around, giving an awkward but appreciative smile. Phantom hissed a little as he noticed the second presence, but relaxed a little as he realized Danny wasn’t afraid. 

“Thanks for all the help, uh… What should I call you?” 

There was a pause. 

...it’s sidney, the ghost replied after some amount of thought, but don’t thank me just yet. 

“What?”

she’s coming. 

---

Screw this.

Jazz had broken into a run. Danny was clearly not in here, and whatever the hell that was that she had been speaking to clearly had no plans to reveal where he was. There was absolutely nothing left for her in that room but nightmare fuel and the possibility of being murdered in some gruesome and supernatural way. 

Screw this screw this screw this. 

To clarify: She was not giving up. She was not being cowardly. She was being practical. You ask someone several times where your brother is, they reveal to you that they’re some sort of nightmarish corpse demon and are probably seconds away from stealing your soul, you run .

She hadn’t made it far down the hallway before the door she’d slammed behind her flew suddenly off its hinges. An amalgamation of nothing and everything began to pour from the room, limbs reaching forward and snapping off into tree branches, eyes of every possible color blinking and whirling wildly, shadows from which a figure reaching, stretching, would briefly appear before collapsing back down into the nothingness again. Teeth flashed from mouths in places mouths should not be, every single one of them smiling. 

YOU’RE NOT GETTING AWAY THIS TIME. 

The voice echoed out in every possible pitch, simultaneous whispering, mumbling, shouting, weeping, screaming. 

“Come on come on come on-”

Jazz fumbled with her phone as she ran, unlocking it with shaky hands and hurriedly swiping to her photo gallery. She’d had her doubts about this whole “ghosts are real,” thing, but every single one of them had evaporated by now. Whatever was going on, there was no explanation for it aside from the impossible. 

Finally, she found it: the picture she’d taken of that page in Danny’s book. It had seemed fake at the time, sure, but at times like these, anything was possible. She’d read it a few times already, but she went over it once more to see if there was anything she could use. She needed an object to bind the ghost- a pendant would do- the words to finish the ritual- she knew those- and…

...The blood of a medium.

She didn’t have that.

Nor was she sure she’d be prepared to use it, even if by some circumstance she’d been able to get her hands on it… whatever a medium was. No, it seemed like all she had in her arsenal now was the time she’d spent jogging.

The entity was catching up. 

Jazz ran. 

---

In the hallway not far away, the spirit known as Sidney stuck out his semicorporeal fist. 

take it.

“What?”

Danny looked down, and in Sidney’s now-open hand was a slightly bloodstained pocket knife. Danny’s pocket knife. 

“Where’d you get it?”

we’ve been sharing a locker for a while. i thought i needed it. i took it. i’m sorry.

Phantom hissed a little. Danny hesitated, then carefully took it. He’d be mad, but… he’d given it back, hadn’t he? And with good timing, too.

“...It’s okay. You taking it might’ve just saved all our asses.” 

There was a hint of a smile on Sidney’s eyeless face, a face that seemed to be fading now. The moment the pocket knife left his hands, his form seemed to destabilize a little. Slowly but surely, shadows started to overtake his features. However, he didn’t seem concerned- Like he’d expected this to happen. Like this is what he was used to. He looked a lot more like Phantom now. 

now 

will you make sure that bully 

can’t hurt anybody anymore? 

Danny tightened his grip on the pocket knife, then nodded. 

“I promise.” 

Sidney nodded back at him, then-

Then he was gone. 

Danny stared into the empty hallway for a moment, then sighed and looked back at Phantom, who hadn’t left his side. 

“What do you say, buddy? Ready to hunt down a demon?”

i don’t think 

we have a choice

Footsteps were echoing from around the corner. 

---

Run. 

---

STOP RUNNING. 

---

“Is that-”

The footsteps got closer and closer and closer, until finally, turning the corner was-

“Jazz!”

“Danny!”

Jazz’s face lit up with relief, but she didn’t stop. She ran right for him, then grabbed his hand, dragging him along as she kept going down the hallway. 

“We have to go fast- ”

“Wait, why?”

“That.” 

Something slammed into a set of lockers behind them. Then another. Until it finally turned the corner, gaining on them. Danny didn’t even know how he’d describe it. He just turned back around, gripping Jazz’s hand as he matched her pace. 

“Right. Yeah. Run. Gotcha.” 

Sure, he’d planned to hunt the demon, but now that it was hunting him his plans vanished. He wasn’t good under pressure, and this was a hell of a lot of pressure . Besides, in the moments it’d take to do any sort of medium ritual, the thing would catch up to them for sure. Plus, would it even work at all? 

what other option 

do we have? 

Phantom was flying alongside them, but Danny could feel his hesitation. 

“Dude, you see that thing! You know more than any of us how powerful she is.” 

Jazz gave Danny a look. “Who are you talking to?” 

Phantom ignored her. 

i know

i’m scared 

but i’m tired of

letting her

control me. 

Danny sighed. He was right. Besides… This wasn’t really Casper High. They couldn’t just walk out the door- they needed to bring this whole place down if they wanted to escape. 

“Jazz. Do you trust me?” 

“I-”

“Because I have a sort-of plan. That’s a demon, and the only way to bring her down is by using me. ”

Danny expected a look of disbelief, but Jazz surprised him as a look of understanding dawned across her face instead. 

“...A medium.”

“...How did you know?” 

“I’ve been doing a lot of reading.” 

There were a set of doors splitting the hallway ahead. The three of them zipped through and slammed them behind them, doing their best to hold the doors closed as the demon loomed closer. As he leaned all his weight against the door, Danny pulled out his pocket knife. 

Jazz looked alarmed. “Wait-”

He sliced his hand open. 

“God, Danny, did you have to cut your entire hand? You’re gonna slice a tendon.” 

Danny rolled his eyes. “Too late now.” 

The demon was getting closer.  Phantom was freaking out, zipping around as if he wasn’t sure whether to place himself in front of Danny or hide behind him. Sure, he knew they needed to do this, but he wasn’t happy about it. 

There was an open classroom door right next to where they were standing. Danny waved Jazz over. “Get in there, okay? I’m the only one who can do this. You don’t have to get hurt.”

“But-”

“Shit! Sorry about this-” 

Danny shoved her inside and closed the door just as the demon burst through from the other side of the hallway. Danny held his ground, raising his bloodied hand to the air. 

“Okay, I’ve- I’ve done this before. I can do it again.” 

The demon froze. 

Phantom stayed right beside him. A supernatural light began to surround the two. Danny closed his eyes, then opened them. They were glowing a brilliant green. 

From nowhere, wind picked up. 

Danny knew the words. 

“Relinquo.” 

This was where the demon would shrink away, screeching, as she was banished away into nothing. This was where they’d be free. This was where everything would be okay. 

Except it wasn’t. 

The demon was making a sound, but it wasn’t a shriek of pain. 

It was laughter. 

YOU REALLY THINK THAT WILL WORK HERE? YOU’RE MORE OF AN  I D I O T THAN I THOUGHT. 

THAT WORKS IN YOUR PLANE OF EXISTENCE. 

THIS IS  M I N E.

A hand shot out, then another, then another, all reaching forth and wrapping themselves around Danny’s neck, arm, arm, neck, neck, neck, slamming him against the wall of lockers nearby and sending the bloodied knife skidding across the floor. He couldn’t breathe. He didn’t understand. He thought it’d work- If this didn’t work, what would?

YOU’RE NOTHING BUT A PEST, MEDIUM. YOU’RE NOT  N E E D E D. 

Its grip tightened. Danny’s blood was dripping to the ground. Phantom was screaming. He could see him slashing at her, at the arms that were holding Danny against the wall, but anything he slashed away grew back in seconds. He was panicking even more than Danny, and he was weakening, too. The glow hadn’t left, but it was different now. It wasn’t power growing. It was power, life, leaving. The demon was stealing all of it. 

now go somewhere you’ll finally belong. 

Danny was dying. Phantom had fallen to the ground. The world was going dark, he couldn’t breathe, he-

“HEY!” 

The demon froze, and turned its many heads around. Danny wheezed. 

“N-No-” 

There was Jazz. She’d left the classroom and was standing tall behind the demon. Her fist was in the air, and she was holding something, but Danny couldn’t tell what it was. In her other hand was Danny’s bloody pocket knife. 

“Get your hands off my brother.”

Now Danny could see what was held tight in her raised fist. It was shining.

The ruby pendant. 

Blood. Pendant. Only missing one thing now. 

She started to chant. Danny couldn’t understand the words, but clearly the demon did, because it dropped him instantly and whipped around to try to grab Jazz. It failed. Something about the necklace she was holding formed a barrier between them. 

W A I T 

As Jazz continued to chant, the pendant started to glow, and Danny realized that the energy there was his. Phantom had peeled himself off the ground and made his way, unseen by her, to Jazz’s side, amplifying the power of the words she spoke. Holding the pendant in front of her like a torch to ward off the dark, she continued chanting, and moved across the room until she was by Danny’s side. 

S T O P 

The two reached for each other at the same time, and soon Jazz had Danny’s bloody hand clasped in hers. She was almost done. Just one more word to say. Danny didn’t know how he knew it, but somehow he did, and so the two spoke it together:

“Contineo.” 

The pendant shattered. 

And then it… un-shattered. 

The broken pieces scattered then began to swirl around Spectra like a dust storm, slowly starting to reform. The demon screamed and shrank, letting its number of faces, arms, legs, shrink until it was just one shadowy, humanlike figure. She clawed at the air, trying to swat the shards away, then started shapeshifting wildly, anything to offset the barrier that had suddenly started to surround her. 

No- NO-

She was suddenly Sam, then Tucker, then Jazz, Sam, Tucker, Jazz…

Then she was someone new. 

The pieces were swirling so close that it was hard to see her beyond the storm they’d turned into, but Danny could just make out what her new form was.

A bearded man. Long hair so blond it skirted the edge of white, tired lines by his eyes, eyes that would have seemed so kind if not for the fact that they were filled with Spectra’s terror and malice. 

Phantom froze. He knew who this was supposed to be. 

“I can help you,” the creature begged, switching tactics as time was running out. “I only ever wanted to help you. I know everything- I know who you are, I know your father- I know- I know who killed him- Don’t you want to know- know who-”

The pieces suddenly snapped back together with a series of clicks, and the pendant fell to the floor with a clatter. The glow of ghostly energy abruptly left the room as everything went silent. The demon was gone. 

Phantom was staring into the space where her final disguise had been standing.

And then everything faded. 

---

Danny woke up in the guidance counselor’s office, and so did everybody else. Not just Jazz, but about twenty other students, including Dash, Paulina, Kwan, Star, and everyone else he’d seen in that inky blackness. 

Dash spoke up first. “Gah… What happened?” 

They weren’t dead. They weren’t dead. Danny was so relieved, he almost hugged Dash right then and there... But he didn’t. He still had standards. 

Clearly his staring had been obvious, because Dash shot him a glare. “What are you looking at, Fenturd?”

Danny laughed, and to Dash’s confusion, clapped him on the back. “Nothing, dude, nothing.” 

“Weirdo.” 

Someone opened the door, and all the confused, half-asleep teenagers began to wander out. Jazz had finally squeezed her way across the crowded room to Danny, and threw her arms around him. 

“We did it, oh my god, we did it.” 

“Haha, yeah. Weird dream, right?” 

Jazz pulled back just to glare at him, then took his wrist and lifted up his injured hand. It was still bleeding. 

“Nice try, buster. We’re getting this patched up, and then you and I are gonna have a long talk about what exactly a medium is.” 

Danny sighed, then gave a tired smile. “I never thought you’d believe me.” 

“Hard to deny that sort of evidence. Believe me, I’ve been trying.” 

The two laughed. Phantom didn’t. He was hiding somewhere behind Danny, and he’d been weirdly silent since they’d woken up. Danny was going to need to talk to him later about what they’d seen in there. Later, though. That felt like a conversation they needed to have alone. 

Jazz lifted the pendant. From the chill it gave him, Danny could tell there was definitely still something in there… but it was contained. It wouldn’t be hurting anybody like this. 

“What do you suppose we do with this? ” Jazz asked. 

“I… don’t know. Throw it somewhere very far away before Mom and Dad get their hands on it.” 

“...We’ll figure it out. For now, let’s get that hand patched up, okay?”

“Okay.” 

Teachers were starting to gather, at first showing annoyance at the volume of students out here during class time, then shock, as they realized who those students were. Soon enough, parents were being called, and students were being ushered to the principal’s office- or the nurse’s, in Danny’s case. 

As the nurse wrapped his hand, Danny glanced into the hallway, and noticed a shadowy shape. At first he thought it was Phantom, but Phantom was curled up like a cat somewhere beside him. Then he realized who it was. 

Sidney waved. 

Danny gave a little smile and waved back. 

---

Jazz Fenton was still worried, but less, now that she knew exactly what she was dealing with. Sure, Danny still tended to be secretive, sure, he still had private conversations with the ghost that was apparently possessing him (a fact that he was apparently all good with), but he was okay… more or less. It was more or less okay.

Okay, it wasn’t really. This was weird. Too weird. But Danny was her brother, and she’d do whatever she could to help him deal with this supernatural otherworld that had apparently declared war on him. She’d taken to carrying jars of salt in her backpack. She even tried laying a trail of it over Danny’s doorway so no ghost would try to attack him in his sleep, but in the morning he complained that he couldn’t get out, so she’d vacuumed it away. 

So maybe she’d have to do a bit more reading before she could be reliably helpful against ghosts. Fortunately, Danny could handle himself on that front for the most part. What he really needed her help for were the threats on this side of the veil- their parents. They’d been getting suspicious of him, especially after his outburst and subsequent disappearance, but after Jazz gathered together all the psychology terms in her arsenal to convince them that his behaviour was just a case of being a teenager, not being possessed, she managed to convince them to shelve their exorcism plans… for now, at least. 

Things would be okay.

There was just one final thing that was bothering her about the whole incident. One thing that hadn’t gotten an answer. 

Spectra’s final disguise. 

“Your father.” 

There was only one being in the hallway whose father that could’ve been. Jazz wouldn’t pretend that she knew much about this mysterious Phantom, or anything about him, really, but considering Danny’s brand new obsession with Amity Park death certificates, the question had been bothering him too. Who was he? And without Spectra… how would they ever find out? 

Whatever the case… Spectra’s help would never have been worth it. Her offers of knowledge were appealing, sure, but at what cost? Jazz was fine not knowing a few things if it meant not having a murderous demon living in the back of her head. 

Some things might just never have an answer, and that was okay. 

---

it’s not okay. 

“I know, man, I know. I swear, I’ve been doing my best, but there’s only so much you can find off of a description alone.” 

…

“C’mon, Phantom. She tried to eat us. Do you really think her information was reliable, anyway? She was just trying to save her own skin.” 

but she knew

and for just a little

i remembered 

how?

“I don’t know. But even if she did tell you, what good would that be if she just ate us right after? We’ll find out ourselves. It’s gotta be in these records somewhere…” 

…

“It’ll be okay.” 

i hope so.

Chapter Text

Harriet Chin was being watched. 

Usually, she was used to that sort of thing. Lights, camera, action, reporting to you live from the scene. Anyone in Amity Park could’ve seen one of her broadcasts, some time or another. Anyone in the world, even- She’d reported from enough places. 

This? This was different. These were the eyes on the back of your neck. The sort of attention you close your blinds to avoid. Something that knew you. Something you didn’t want to know you. She couldn't figure out what it was, exactly, but it seemed… Appraising. 

She wasn’t sure how she knew this. Maybe because she wasn’t awake. 

If she was awake, she wouldn’t be in high school again. The halls wouldn’t be endless. The teenagers surrounding her on all sides wouldn’t be faceless. She stood there, holding a stack of books to her chest as the crowd flowed by her. 

The thing was getting closer.

Hello, Harriet.

The voice sounded vaguely female, but not exactly human, either. Harriet didn’t turn around. 

“Who are you?”

It’s not really important, not yet, at least. The important part is that I’m like you. It’s why I’m here, after all.

“Do explain.” 

You want to know everything. We deal in different truths, but It’s all the same in the end. You want the answers, and I can help you find them. I wonder, do you have what it takes…?

“How do you know who I am?”

When you go chasing the wrong rabbit, certain people notice. 

Something was breaking the faceless teenage monotony ahead of her. A blonde, bearded man, equally faceless as the teenagers, but familiar regardless. He was walking past her now. Where did she know him from?

Wait-  

“Clay Morris-” 

She turned around to follow him, but he was already gone, and so was everybody else. The hallway was empty now, save for one solitary figure. Harriet wasn’t sure she could call it a figure, even. It was a shadowy form, shapeless, barely visible, save for its red eyes. When she let her eyes unfocus, however, it almost seemed like a human woman. She saw red hair, for a second. Then it was gone. 

I picked that one up just the other day. That memory, that is. The one I took it from has already forgotten what it looked like. 

“What- What are you?”

There’s something buried in the park behind Casper High. Come and find out. 

---

With a gasp, Harriet sat up straight, looking around wildly as the feeling of eyes on the back of her neck finally began to dissipate. 

“Some dream,” she mumbled, glancing down at the documents she’d fallen asleep on top of. 

It had been a long night in Amity Park’s historical records office. She was surprised she hadn’t been kicked out, but apparently no one had noticed. In her search for leads, she’d found a few things- Documents relating to the three murdered men. Tristan Elliot and Benjamin Price hadn’t turned up much- They really had had no family. Never married, estranged from relatives, etc. She’d found those documents back in Wisconsin, but they hadn’t been much help. Clay Morris, on the other hand, had turned up a few things. He had a family, once upon a time, but then… something had happened, and everything had fallen apart. A sudden death, a messy divorce, a move to Wisconsin, a new dead-end job at Vladco, then… the end. Sad as it was, it wasn't all that useful. She’d driven all the way to Amity Park to follow this lead, but it seemed like she might’ve wasted her time. 

Her eyes drifted back to the photo of Clay on the table as her mind drifted back to her strange dream. What had that been about, anyway? It seemed so… specific. So real. Like that figure that claimed to know her so well actually did . 

Come to the park behind Casper High, it had said. There’s something buried. Why? No way in hell was she digging around in the dirt just because some dream had told her to. 

...And yet, she couldn’t help but feel like for some reason she had to. Like she had no choice in the matter. Like some invisible rope was preparing to drag her there the moment she stepped outside.

Nope. No. No way.

She was just running on too little sleep. 

---

She’d been underestimated. 

No matter.

She’d find her way back soon enough. 

Chapter Text

Valerie Gray had been haunted all her life. 

Shadows creeping up the walls. Figures flickering in the mirror. Imaginary friends that weren’t so friendly once she realized that they weren’t imaginary, either. It was less like having one foot in either world and more like another world leaking into her own. They were shadows she could see, but not touch. Observe, but not control. 

It wasn’t until she was eleven that her mother had finally explained to her what she was. 

Her mother was less haunted by the other side of the veil than she haunted it. It was awe-inspiring, what she could do with a few latin words and a drop of blood. She was powerful in a way that made Valerie feel safe. Who would be afraid of the monster under the bed with a mother who scared the monsters away? Audrey Gray was a protector, a shield, a beacon of light in a world where shadows crept round every corner. She was a medium, and she kept the shadows at bay. 

Until one day she couldn’t. 

It had been a year since then, and the flames that were Valerie’s grief had shifted into the sort of simmering anger that had her cursing the darkness and placing lines of salt across her doorway. When her friends had brought out a Ouija board at a sleepover one time, she’d broken it in half. She kept a planter on her balcony where she grew blood blossoms, after she’d noticed the shadows recoil the first time her father had brought the flower home and placed it in a vase. Maybe people noticed, maybe they didn’t, but when asked, she’d vehemently deny it. 

She did not believe in ghosts. 

She hated them. 

Some days she wished for the sort of power her mother had had, but she always reigned herself in before doing anything crazy. Her mother’s power had protected her, but it had also gotten her killed. Valerie felt she owed it to her to not follow in those footsteps. As long as she stayed like this, the shadows couldn’t touch her. She couldn’t touch them, either, but it seemed like a good enough compromise. She’d stick to her world. They could make faces in her mirror all they wanted, but there was nothing a ghost could do to someone as mortal as her. 

Or so she thought. 

She’d been right in her assumption that most ghosts couldn’t affect the mortal world in any meaningful way, but she’d been wrong in thinking that made her safe. Most ghosts didn’t mean all. 

When all those students had gone missing, she’d noticed. Hell, some of them were her best friends. The muddled explanations of what had happened to them had only made her more suspicious. 

Party, huh? My ass. 

They hadn’t left of their own accord. She knew this, because she’d seen it herself. The shadows in the corner overwhelming everything, taking them away- Paulina, Star, Dash, Kwan… All of them. Why she’d been spared, she had no idea. Probably the amount of salt she’d taken to carrying in her backpack. Of course she’d tried to tell her dad, anyone- but he’d never believed in the supernatural, not really. And anyone else? They’d just think she was crazy. 

She wasn’t crazy. She’d always known that. What she hadn’t known before now was that she wasn’t alone. 

Valerie Gray knew what she had seen- The shadows swallowing her friends and Danny Fenton walking back out of them.

Shadow in tow. 

You could make the excuse that he was simply haunted. It wasn’t that unusual to see a lingering spirit following people around. A dead relative? Dead friend? Maybe… but she’d also noticed something else. 

He had been talking to it. 

It didn’t take long for her to realize that Danny Fenton wasn’t anything like her at all. 

She’d never seen the shadows harm mortals. She’d also never seen someone talking to them like he had, like that thing was an old friend. It didn’t take much to put two and two together. 

As she watched him walk away, she clenched her fist around the jar of salt in her pocket, her mind drifting back to the blood blossoms she’d been raising at home. For a moment, inexplicably, he turned his head back towards her, and the two met eyes. 

Danny Fenton, she thought to herself, I’m onto you.

Chapter Text

May 20

It’s been almost a week since the Spectra incident, and I think things are settling back to normal. Mom has stopped insisting on walking me to school, at least. No one ever really figured out what happened, but I guess it’s weird enough that everyone’s willing to just forget about it. 

I’m glad. Now my biggest problems are finally normal stuff. Homework, classes, yadda yadda. I can just be a kid for a little bit… aside from the whole ‘being haunted’ thing, but y’know. I’m used to that by now. 

I mean… I’m still worried about Phantom. He was pretty shaken up by everything that happened. Still… I think we’ll come back from this. It’s gonna be okay. 

Things are looking up.

---

Things were not looking up. 

Danny Fenton was spiralling. 

More accurately, Phantom was spiralling, and he was dragging Danny down with him. Having no memories was bad enough, but having the fractured memories he’d regained after the Spectra incident, the hints she’d given him, was a dozen times worse. There were good days and there were bad days, and today was a very bad day. 

“C’mon, man,” Danny quietly pleaded, “Can you stay chill for at least the next couple hours? We’re getting weird looks.” 

The two of them were back at the books in what had recently become their new haunt: The local historical records office. Aided occasionally by Sam, Tucker and Jazz, they’d spend a day or two a week sifting through old death certificates, trying to find some clue of who Phantom- or his father- might have been. They hadn’t had much luck. Turns out, a lot of people die in Amity Park. Who would have thought? Without any idea of how long it had been since their deaths, it was hard to narrow things down. 

Today all five of them were there, and Phantom was getting restless. The more records he looked through, each without a smidgen of familiarity, the harder it got to keep up hope. Much as he tried to keep himself calm for Danny’s sake, the lightbulb above them had been flickering erratically for the past twenty minutes. The ghost’s restlessness must have been affecting Danny too, because he’d been fidgeting enough that Jazz was clearly getting worried. 

“Maybe the two of you should take a break,” she suggested tentatively. “You’ve been working hard. Some fresh air could do you some good…?” 

Danny looked tiredly up at her, then let out a sigh and nodded. He’d been reading over the same line repeatedly for the past five minutes, his focus completely and utterly gone. Apparently the person this death certificate had belonged to had died from stress. Hah. 

“Yeah… maybe you’ve got a point.” He glanced over to where Sam and Tucker were sifting through files nearby. “I’m gonna grab us some food- Nasty Burger, maybe. You guys want anything?” 

“Please,” Tucker said, looking up with the expression of a drowning man who has just been offered a life ring. “Could you get me a cheeseburger? I love you.” 

“Fruit salad,” said Sam, giving a thumbs up before burying herself once again in the filing cabinet’s depths. 

“Gotcha. Jazz?” 

Jazz waved a hand. “I’m good- I ate earlier. Be careful out there, alright?” 

Danny wasn’t sure what danger could possibly befall him during the five minute walk to Nasty Burger, but then he remembered- right, I’m Danny Fenton, and gave a reluctant nod. 

“I’ll try my best. C’mon, Phantom.” 

It was then that he realized that Phantom had never responded to his earlier request. The flickering light had stopped at some point, but the ghost himself was nowhere to be found. Feeling a small wave of worry, Danny frowned a little, then headed out the door. 

To his relief, he found Phantom floating not far from the archive’s doors. The ghost was facing away from him, staring motionlessly down the street. 

“Hey, buddy. I’m sorry if I snapped at you in there... I guess I just needed to get outside.” 

Phantom didn’t respond. Danny’s worry returned, and he took a tentative step forward, reaching out a hand. He wasn’t mad at him, was he? 

Then he remembered their psychic link. He didn’t feel any anger coming from it, but he felt something else. It was radiating off of the ghost in waves- How hadn’t he noticed until now? 

Phantom was afraid. 

Danny moved to stand beside him, looked in the direction he was looking, and immediately understood why. 

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.” 

Striding down the street towards them was none other than Vlad Masters. 

As Vlad got closer, Phantom placed himself protectively in front of Danny, letting out a quiet, defensive hiss. Danny moved beside him once again, placing a gentle hand on Phantom’s shoulder. Phantom may be afraid of that old bastard, but Danny sure as hell wasn’t. He’d told him to fuck off once before, and he’d do it again. 

“Hello, Daniel,” said Vlad, stopping close enough to speak quietly yet far enough that Phantom couldn’t take a swipe at him. 

“Fuck off.” 

Vlad was caught off guard, and glared for a moment, before letting out a sigh. He spoke with the practiced air of someone who was used to speaking calmly with people he hated- or who hated him. 

“It’s nice to see you too, Daniel. How have you been doing? Ah, you don’t have to answer that. I know you’ve been through a lot lately.”

Phantom bristled, and Danny did too. 

“You don’t know anything about me.”

“I know what your father tells me, and good lord, Daniel, he tells me a lot. More than I’d like to know, honestly. Can you tell him to stop calling me at one in the morning?” Vlad looked irritated for a moment, before straightening out his composure and continuing. “...But this isn’t about that. I’m here because he told me something that was of interest to me. Whatever story you spun to explain your little vanishing act last week… Tell me, how much of that was a lie?” 

Danny grimaced. Of course Jack would ramble about his kids to his so-called best friend. Of course he would mention how Danny, along with a pack of classmates, had temporarily disappeared. The question was…

“What does this have to do with you?” 

“What, I can’t care about the safety of my dear nephew?” 

Danny glared, and Vlad rolled his eyes. “Right. You’re not exactly happy about my new status as your honorary uncle. Nor am I… But still, Daniel, that doesn’t mean I don’t worry about you. You and I both know that whatever happened back there wasn’t something that science can explain.”

“...Yeah? And?” 

“And,” Vlad continued, pointedly ignoring Danny’s tone, “If that was indeed the case, then you could use my help . I’d like to extend my previous offer. I have years more experience with the supernatural than you do- I have skills and knowledge that I could share. ”

you have a demon, Phantom cut in, eyes narrowed. 

Right. The demon. Danny looked around, feeling uneasy. He hadn’t seen the thing show its face yet. Where was it? 

Vlad looked at Phantom, his expression turning icy for a moment, then completely ignored him. 

“...Anyway. What do you say, Daniel?” 

“For the fourth time-”

“Good lord, not again-” 

“Fuck off. Jeez, how many times do I have to keep repeating myself? What happened to telling me to ‘ forget this ever happened or I’ll, like, kill you or something?’ What happened to trying to kill my dad? You’re one messed-up fruitloop, and I am not playing along with whatever scheme you’re pulling. I’m not an idiot. Whatever you’re planning, no one’s falling for it.” 

But Vlad didn’t glare. He didn’t drop his metaphorical mask and launch into a villainous monologue. He just looked… tired. Danny was caught off guard, noticing for the first time just how ragged Vlad looked. Sure, he was wearing a fancy suit, but the dark circles under his eyes were worse than Danny’s. He looked sick. And above all, there was this haunted look in his eyes. Something about him just looked so off that Danny felt unsettled. It was the sort of uncanny valley you might find yourself falling into after gazing upon a corpse. 

“...Uh.” Danny’s glare was replaced with a look of unsettled confusion. “You… look kind of. Um.” 

dying, said Phantom quietly. 

“I’m fine,” Vlad said quickly, looking irritated. He straightened his back, adjusting his tie. “You aren’t looking too good yourself, Daniel.” 

“Yeah, but not as bad as-” 

Then Vlad froze. It happened with a jolt, obvious enough that both Danny and Phantom flinched, wondering if he was about to lash out. There was a sudden, panicked look in Vlad’s eyes, like he’d just seen something horrible… but Danny couldn’t see anything, nor could Phantom sense anything. They were alone- but clearly, something had left Vlad startled. 

“What-” 

“Nevermind,” Vlad cut him off. “I can see you haven’t changed your mind. Face the entire afterlife by yourself, see if I care. Good day.” 

Then he briskly hurried away, leaving Danny and Phantom standing (or floating) where they were. Clearly something had happened there- but what? The two stared at each other, baffled. 

Phantom was the one to speak first. 

what

just happened? 

---

Valerie Gray knew that she was being followed by the familiar icy chill that was making its way down her spine. Even without it, it would be obvious. Shadows didn’t move on their own, after all. 

This one, apparently, did. 

She wasn’t afraid of it. Ghosts were usually too weak to cause much harm, and even the stronger ones were no match for the sort of wards she carried. From the silver and ruby pendant she wore, to the salt she carried, to the pocket knife covered in blood blossom perfume, she knew she was safe. 

Still. The shadow persisted. 

Valerie couldn’t help but feel a growing sense of unease. Usually her wards were enough to make sure any nearby ghost steered clear, so why was this one so damn persistent? For good measure, she reached into the inside pocket of her jacket for the knife, flipped it open, and-

Shit. 

She must’ve forgotten to replace the coating, because the power of the knife had noticeably waned. She’d have to put on a new layer the moment she got home. 

...The challenge now was getting home in the first place. 

She didn’t know what the thing wanted, but the aura she sensed from it as it drew closer was powerful enough that she was starting to worry. It must be strong if she could sense it that clearly from here. She picked up her pace, then bit her lip in frustration as she realized the presence was moving faster now, too. 

Some part of her felt silly for worrying. She was not a medium. But after what had happened the week before… did that matter anymore? 

Either it mattered, or it didn’t. And if it didn’t… then this wasn’t a spirit she could afford to bring home. Mustering up all the courage she could, she stopped, then turned around, glaring into the empty space where she knew something unseen was looking right back. 

“You’re a long way from the afterlife,” she said casually, hoping her tone sounded calmer than she felt. 

So you can see me. The demon snickered, then finally made itself visible. I was wondering if you would.

Such a solid response caught Valerie off guard. Usually ghosts weren’t so talkative. Full, clear sentences were incredibly unusual- It meant that the thing had power . That wasn’t the only strange thing about this particular spirit, though. 

The thing was made from moving shadows, with eyes that glowed an eerie magenta. Not unusual. What was unusual was how erratic it looked. It seemed… unstable, its form flickering like a flame dying in the wind. There was something feral about it, only mostly masked by the casual tone in which it spoke. 

Valerie didn’t like that. She took a step back frowning. 

“Yeah. That means I can see that you’re following me. Anyone ever tell you that’s rude?” 

Hah. 

“It’s not funny, creep. I know what you are, and I’m not worried. I’ve exorcised worse monsters than you.” 

Maybe you should be. 

“What?”

The thing smiled- a flash of sharp teeth. Valerie recoiled. Teeth? They didn’t usually have teeth. 

Worried.

The demon lunged, slashing out with its claws. Valerie quickly stepped back, holding her knife up in front of her. The blood blossom residue wasn’t enough to ward the demon away, but maybe it would be enough to at least hurt the thing if she stabbed it. She wasn’t sure, though- it didn’t look particularly intimidated. 

“What do you want?” Valerie hissed, slashing out with the knife. The demon floated back in time to avoid being hit. 

What else? the demon growled, its composure starting to break. To live. 

“I’ve got bad news for you,” Valerie countered, “I’m not a medium. My life’s not yours to steal.”

Luckily, that doesn’t matter to me. 

“What-” 

Valerie jumped back just in time to avoid another swipe. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t how things were supposed to work. Ghosts were ghosts and humans were humans, and apart from mediums, who stood in between, they were supposed to stay separate. But after her friends’ disappearance, and now this… Who knew anymore? It was as if the barriers between the living world and the dead were… failing. 

“What are you?” 

The demon only laughed. It surged forward then, shadows swirling around the hilt of her knife and hurling it from her hands. She gasped, stumbling. 

It doesn’t matter anymore. 

Images flashed through Valerie’s mind- familiar ones, memories she’d wished for the past year to just forget. It was all she could think of now, as the demon took hold of her aura- her life- and started to sift it away. It glowed around her now, red. She’d only seen it once before. 

Mom lying there on the ground. The thing getting closer. Why is she- what is she- how is she- 

Your knife. Where’s your knife? 

Valerie stumbled, her knees scraping the pavement. She reached out with shaky fingers, finding the hilt of the knife. Solid. Real. The world around her was blurring now, but with the strength she could muster, with the memory of what she’d had to do back then, with the knowledge of what she knew she had to do now, she pulled herself to her feet, gripped the knife, and SWUNG- 

“STOP!” 

Whatever happened next, Valerie only got flashes of it between the blur of reality, the red glow around her, and the memories swirling through her mind. An unfamiliar man appeared, rushing forward and warding the demon away with… something. Valerie honestly wasn’t sure. It seemed like he was saying something to it- too quiet to hear, maybe a spell? Whatever it was, the demon was pushed back, before eventually- miraculously- disappearing. The stranger looked to her with concern as she sank back against the wall, letting out a breath of relief as her aura stabilized and vanished, safe. 

“Are you hurt?” the man asked, looking uneasy. He seemed incredibly ragged- had whatever spell he’d done taken something out of him, or had he looked like that already? 

“I’m fine,” Valerie managed to say, trying her best to pull herself together. “Who are you?” 

The man hesitated for a moment, as if he was weighing potential answers carefully. 

“...Vlad Masters.” 

“You a ghost hunter?” 

Another moment of hesitation. The man had saved her life, and she was grateful for it, but even considering all that, this Vlad character made her suspicious. She raised her eyebrow, waiting for him to respond. 

“...You could say that,” he finally responded, glancing around as if expecting the ghost to come back. Then he looked at her, recognition in his eyes. “I suppose you must be too, then.” 

He was keeping his distance from her. Valerie looked down at the knife in her hand, then pocketed it. She looked at him, curious. 

“No point in denying it, I guess. I am.” Whether I like it or not. “I’ve never met another one, though. Or at least… not another real one. Usually it’s just fakes with ouija boards and cameras.” 

She hesitated a moment, before adding, “What was that thing? It wasn’t like any ghost I’ve ever seen before.” 

Valerie had turned her attention to the space the demon had disappeared from, wondering where it had gone. If she’d been looking at Vlad, maybe she would have noticed a shudder, or a faint magenta glow in his eyes, or another of the subtle signs that Vlad was no longer the being that she was speaking to. 

“Who can say,” the thing mused in Vlad’s voice, its change in tone subtle enough for Valerie not to notice. “What matters is that it’s gone now. Say- Are you looking for a teacher?” 

Valerie turned back to him, eyebrow raised. “A teacher? ” 

“You said that you’d never met another ghost hunter. That means that there’s a lot you don’t know. Correct?” 

His sudden change in demeanor unnerved her, but she had to admit that he was right. Sure, she’d inherited a lot of knowledge from her mother and gained a lot more through experience, but there was a lot she didn’t know. Her encounter with whatever that thing was was proof enough of that. 

“You don’t know what I know,” Valerie replied, feeling a little defensive. “But… maybe. I’ll think about it. You got a business card?” 

‘Vlad’ nodded, producing a business card from his suit and handing it to her. She looked at it dubiously. 

“...Vladco?” 

The being’s smile twitched. “Silly name, isn’t it?” 

“I’ll say.” Valerie pocketed the card, frowning a little. It had been a while since she’d had anyone to ask for advice on this sort of stuff. She and her father were close, but there was only so much he could do when he couldn’t see ghosts himself. Here was someone who could. The question was- could she trust him? 

She wasn’t sure, but she guessed that she’d have to find out. 

“...Well. I’ll see you, I guess.” She turned to go. 

“Take care.” 

---

As she left Vlad Masters behind, Valerie found herself lost in thought. There were so many things- past, present and future- that she just couldn’t get off of her mind. It had been a hell of a day, and now she just wanted to get home as soon as possible. Her potted blood blossoms were blooming, so hopefully they’d be enough to keep her ghostly troubles at bay, at least for a little bit. 

But apparently life had a few more challenges in store for her, first. 

About five minutes away from home, she turned a corner, and crashed into none other than the ghost boy himself, Danny Fenton. He’d been holding an armful of Nasty Burger takeout bags, as well as four sodas- the latter of which ended up spilling all over both of them with an unceremonious splash as the two of them tumbled to the ground. 

“Shit,” they both swore at the same time, then stared at each other- shocked. 

Valerie was tempted to start swearing a lot more, but the apologetic look on Danny’s face was enough to make her anger evaporate. He quickly gathered up his things then stood, offering her a hand.

“Jeez, I’m sorry- I should’ve been watching where I was going. You okay?” 

Valerie regarded his hand with suspicion, before tentatively reaching out and taking it, pulling herself to her feet and dusting herself off. Her shirt was totally ruined, but then again, his was too. 

“Yeah,” she managed to say, then reluctantly added, “...Thanks. I guess I should’ve been paying attention, too.” 

“You’re Valerie, right? From school?” Danny finally seemed to recognize her. 

“...Yeah. That’s me.” 

“I’m Danny,” he said, giving an awkward chuckle. “Um… Sorry about your shirt.” 

“Sorry about your sodas,” Valerie replied, feeling a strange sort of cognitive dissonance. This was Danny Fenton. This was the kid whose living shadow had given her chills each time they’d passed each other by in the hallway. There’d been something just so off about him, so uncanny, at least from a distance… but up close? 

...He was a total dork . 

After a few more flustered apologies, the two parted ways, Valerie feeling conflicted and Danny, presumably, clueless. She walked for a few paces then stopped, turning back to watch him go-

And that’s when she saw it. 

The shadow. The creature. The thing. It had hidden itself for their conversation, but now it was back, its flickering form as uncanny as ever. A chill ran down Valerie’s spine, and as much as the thing scared her, she couldn’t look away. 

It was like staring into an abyss. 

And as it turned its head, she knew that this was an abyss that stared back. 

---

“What the hell was that?” 

The moment Valerie had left, the demon had freed its host, sending Vlad stumbling before falling to his knees and retching onto the gravel of the alleyway. It felt like he’d been splashed with a bucket of ice water- no, it felt like he’d fallen into the Arctic Ocean- no, it felt like he would never be warm again. The demon had never done such a thing before, and Vlad couldn’t stop shaking, stunned by its audacity. 

The demon hardly gave him a moment to breathe. As soon as he’d struggled back to his feet, the demon had swiped out with its claws, slamming him against the nearby wall then grabbing him by the collar of his all-too-fancy suit. 

What was what, Vladimir? I was simply salvaging what I could from the situation you  r u i n e d . 

Then it relaxed its flickering shoulders, released him, and smiled. 

But it’s alright, it turned out for the best. We have an asset, now. A little ghost hunter to train. That, of course, is why you stopped me, isn’t it? It leaned in closer, a dangerous edge to its lighthearted tone. Why else would you have ruined our chances of buying a little more time?

“Of course,” said Vlad, narrowing his eyes. “Of course. She’s more useful to us alive than dead.” 

The two eyed each other, silent. Their mental bond allowed for no secrets. The demon knew perfectly well that Vlad wasn’t thinking of an alliance when he spared the girl, and Vlad knew that the demon knew this. The question was whether they would acknowledge it or not. 

“She’s a child,” Vlad finally muttered. “Murdering a child is below even me.” 

The demon seemed to consider this for a moment, before flashing a grin, and breaking into cackling laughter. 

A murderer with morals. You’re priceless, Vladimir. 

Vlad remained silent, his expression hardening. The demon watched this, its smile quickly fading away. It looked at him quietly for a moment, then narrowed its eyes. 

We’re running out of time. 

“I know.” 

Then you know we can’t afford to waste chances like this anymore. We need to act, and we need to act soon. 

Vlad was quiet. The demon floated closer, bringing a clawed hand to his shoulder. 

Don’t tell me you’re tired. You knew exactly what you were getting into from the moment we fell into each other’s lives. Don’t tell me you’re done with this life. Don’t tell me you WANT to-

“No,” Vlad snapped, pushing the demon away. “No. I know. We’ve been through far too much to give up now, I… I just need a little more time. But I’ll find someone for you, I swear. I’ll figure it out.” 

The demon watched him for a moment, then floated further from him again, apparently satisfied. 

Clock’s ticking. 

Chapter Text

was the veil always so thin? 

---

The first attack had been dismissed as a night terror. 

The second, a coincidence. 

By the third, people started to realize that there might be more to this than they’d thought. 

A dog, maybe. Or a wolf. Or something in between. Each time, the answers were the same: The victim had been alone when a massive creature had just… appeared. Each victim reported being mauled… but none had any physical injuries to be seen. Just the enduring sense that they were freezing. An unshakeable cold, despite the sunny spring weather outside. By the seventh report, everyone at Casper High knew that something strange was happening, but no one knew what to make of it. No one knew what the mystery creature could possibly be. 

...Well. Almost no one. 

To Danny Fenton and his friends, the answer was pretty damn obvious. 

“Well gang,” said Danny bitterly, “It looks like we’ve got another mystery on our hands.” 

Sam, Tucker, and Danny- with Phantom floating somewhere beside them- were seated at their table in the cafeteria, deliberating. As tired as Danny was- of this, of everything- it was clear that something needed to be done. 

“It got someone from gardening club,” Sam pointed out, recalling some rumors she’d heard. “The guy hasn’t been back all week.” 

Tucker spoke up. “And we’re sure it’s a-” 

“Ghost, yeah,” Danny cut him off, exhausted. “It’s always ghosts. Every day, always ghosts.” 

it’s getting worse, Phantom added. so many more of them lately...

not soulbound

just

strong

i don’t get it

Danny relayed his words to Sam and Tucker, who looked to each other with concern, then back to Danny. 

“...And you know what we have to do about this, right?” Sam asked, tentative. 

“I know,” said Danny, putting his head in his hands. Much as he hated it… The only ones who could deal with this were them. Who else was going to solve a problem that they couldn’t even see? 

Tucker blinked, then tilted his head. “So… Does that mean we’re going to be…” 

He trailed off, seeing the miserable expression on Danny’s face, but all of them knew what he was about to say. 

“Please don’t say it,” Danny muttered, wanting to curl up into a ball and become a ghost like Phantom. “We are not ghost hunters. I am not a ghost hunter.” 

“Paranormal investigators…?” Tucker suggested. 

“No.” 

“Ghost… finders?” 

“God help me.” 

“Team Phantom?” 

Danny and Phantom looked up at the same time, baffled. Tucker shrugged. 

“What? I like the guy, even if I can’t see him. What’s up, dude?” 

uh

Phantom folded his pointed ears, feeling a little embarrassed. 

hi 

“He says hi,” Danny said, then sighed. “I don’t think we need to call ourselves anything. We’re just… us. Are you sure you guys want to do this, though? I mean- it could be dangerous. I know I already have a foot in the grave, but… I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Are you kidding?” Sam cut in. “We’re your friends. If you’re gonna go out there and hunt down a ghost dog, we’re gonna be right there with you.”

“Yeah!” Tucker grinned, reaching across the table to playfully sock Danny in the shoulder. “If we get eaten by ghosts, we do it together.”  

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Tuck,” Danny said dryly, but he couldn’t help but smile. He wasn’t excited about the prospect of… whatever he was going to call this, but at least he had them. It meant the world to him, that they’d stuck by him, believed in him even when he hadn’t believed in himself. 

Maybe it would be okay. 

“So… how are we going to do this?” Sam asked, looking determined. Honestly, she was kind of psyched. An actual ghost hunt- who wouldn’t be? (The answer was Danny, but hey, someone should make the best of this.)

“Uh…” Danny paused, realizing that he hadn’t really thought this out as much as he should have. “No clue. Usually the ghosts find me, you know?” 

“Here.” Tucker placed his phone on the table, open to the maps app. Then he started marking down the locations of the reported attacks. Soon enough, they all began to notice a pattern. 

“They started near the woods,” Sam pointed out, looking over Tucker’s shoulder. “Looks like it’s been getting closer from there.”

“And it must have somewhere to go back to between attacks, right?” Tucker added. “Otherwise there wouldn’t be so much time between them. It keeps disappearing- and it’s gotta be going somewhere.” 

Sam’s eyes lit up. “So you’re saying…” 

Tucker finally realized what this revelation implied. “...Oh no.” 

---

So here they were. 

Ghost hunting in the woods. 

Fantastic. 

Maybe this was crazy. Okay, it was definitely crazy. It was crazy and it was the exact brand of crazy that his parents would love- but Danny couldn’t afford to think about that right now. He had to keep on task, and that task was finding the ghost dog and stopping it before it could hurt anyone else. 

Great. Easy. Exactly how I wanted to be spending my evening. 

At least he wasn’t alone. Tucker was here, terrified, and Sam was here, way too enthusiastic for a task that had a non-zero chance of killing all three of them. Phantom was floating beside him too, uneasy.

Something about this just felt… off, to the ghost. But he couldn’t express why, so he kept quiet. 

“Whatever ghost is out here tonight to kill us,” Danny announced all of a sudden, startling both Tucker and Phantom, “Can you hurry it up a little? I’ve got class tomorrow.” 

To Tucker’s relief, there was no response… at least, at first. But then- 

A bone-chilling howl rang out throughout the trees. It sounded… mournful, almost. Or at least Phantom thought so. He looked to the others to see if they felt the same, but it didn’t seem like they did. 

Tucker shot Danny a glare, to which Danny only shrugged. 

“Hey, at least now we know what direction we’re supposed to be heading in.” 

“Well,” Sam said, gesturing to the trees ahead. “Shall we?” 

---

It took about five minutes for something to go wrong. One moment Danny was walking on solid ground, squinting into the darkness for any sign of the supernatural. The next, one misstep, and all of a sudden the ground was crumbling underneath his worn-out sneakers. He let out a yelp of alarm, and Tucker quickly grabbed onto his hand to try to pull him back, before finding himself pulled forward as well. Sam grabbed onto Tucker, and Phantom tried to grab onto Sam, before remembering that he couldn’t- and then in a whirling mix of four separate bad decisions, all four of them were sent tumbling through the loose silt until they landed in a heap at the bottom of the hill they’d fallen down. 

Sam groaned, pulling herself free from the mass of limbs. “Everyone alive?” 

Phantom floated down to her and gave her a look- which she seemed to know, despite not being able to see him. She flushed a little, then rephrased the question. 

“...Sorry. Everyone okay?” 

yeah

i think 

Phantom floated over to Danny, who was currently being squashed by Tucker, and poked him on the head. 

“Scraped my knee,” Tucker muttered, before pulling himself off of Danny and offering his friend a hand. “Danny?” 

“Could be better,” Danny grumbled, but accepted Tucker’s hand and stood, dusting himself off. “What the hell was that?” 

“A mistake,” said Sam, letting out a sigh. “Might wanna point your flashlight at the ground from now on, I think.”

Then she looked around. “Where’d we end up?” 

They’d landed at the edge of a barren-looking field. A tall chain-link fence rose up in front of them, and behind that… 

“Woah.” 

The ruins of something huge. Some sort of massive building, now broken and dilapidated, with cracked windows and ivy threatening to consume the concrete walls. Danny walked up to the fence, spotting a broken sign. Brushing away the ivy, he squinted to try to read what it said.

“...Axion.” He glanced back at his friends. “Anyone ever heard of it?” 

They both shrugged, but Sam made her way forward, grabbing onto the fence and placing the toe of one of her Doc Martens snugly into the links of the fence, hefting herself up. She looked to her friends, nodded her head in the direction of the lab, and grinned. 

“Nope,” she said, “But if we’re looking for a ghost, I think we’ve got a pretty good shot of finding it in there.” 

Danny, Tucker and Phantom exchanged a look. 

“Welp,” Danny said, sighing and following Sam’s lead. “I’m not seeing any other option.” 

Tucker, reluctant, followed. “If we die, I’m haunting the heck out of both of you.” 

The three began to climb, and soon enough, they’d reached the top- Sam hopping over onto the other side and Tucker following. Danny remained at the top, then looked down to where Phantom was still floating. He’d held back. 

“Phantom?” Danny called. “What’s wrong?” 

Phantom stared at the building ahead, then shook his spectral head and floated through the fence, waiting for Danny on the other side. 

nothing

it’s… fine 

let’s go. 

---

There was something off about the building, some wrongness hanging in the air so thick that even Sam and Tucker felt it. Walking through the abandoned hallways, past waterstained walls and over broken tiles… It felt like standing on a precipice. 

Of what, none of them were exactly sure. 

The worst were the signs of life. Abandoned clipboards with forgotten names, shattered test tubes, cast away pieces of clothing, coffee mugs. People had been here, once upon a time. People had worked and breathed and lived. 

Where were they now? 

“It’s like a tomb in here,” Tucker muttered, shuddering. Phantom looked at him, then looked away. 

He knew he was right, of course. The place reeked of death. Not the stench of a recent death, of rot and decay, but the echoes of something long past. Stale air. Lingering regrets. All of Amity Park was haunted, but this place…? 

Phantom didn’t like it. He stayed close to Danny, feeling comforted by their tether. 

As they passed room after room, it became clear that the place had been some sort of lab, once upon a time. It wasn’t clear what they’d been studying, though- or why everyone had left. They’d left in a hurry, too. Why else would so many belongings have been abandoned here? And why hadn’t the building been repurposed? 

Danny had just shone his flashlight down a dark stairwell when a sudden chill shot down his spine. Phantom shivered, gliding in front of him and staring down into the dark. Danny looked to his friends, then nodded, and the three of them- the reluctant, the eager, and the regretful- descended into the inky darkness below. 

---

Despite his nerves, Phantom ended up scouting ahead. Easier to explore when you could walk through walls. Some of the doors were locked, so he passed through each room on his own as his friends traversed the hallway beside him. The chill was getting worse as time passed on, and his nerves were turning into jitters. It didn’t add up. A simple ghost dog would set off his senses, sure, but not to this level. No, there was something else here. Something wrong. 

Before he could voice his concerns aloud, he passed into the room ahead and froze. 

Cages. 

The room was lined with cages. 

Each large, each… empty. Nothing remained here but discarded blankets and the occasional… toy. 

toy? 

Phantom looked hesitantly towards the door. Danny was nearby, but he hadn’t made it into the room quite yet. Feeling nervous, Phantom turned back to the cage, reaching out for the toy… 

And then he felt it. A shiver strong enough to let him know that he wasn’t alone anymore. He turned, and there it was- the largest dog he’d ever seen, formed entirely from moving shadows. Its eyes glowed an eerie red. Phantom quickly floated backwards, towards the door, feeling his tether with Danny, feeling the need to protect-

But the hound didn’t do anything. It just stood, and stared. Its shadowy tail swayed slowly as it stared at Phantom, tilting its head. 

This caught Phantom off guard. He was so used to ghosts that attacked, ghosts that saw Danny’s life as forfeit, ghosts that would tear Phantom apart just to get to him. Ghosts that would fight with all the strength they had to claw through the darkness, take whatever shreds they could, damning the lives of whoever they hurt in the process. This dog’s teeth should be around his throat by now. 

But it didn’t do any of those things. It just let out a soft bark- more like a boof than anything else- and bounded through a nearby wall. 

Danny still hadn’t caught up. Phantom knew he should go to him and tell him what he’d seen, but something compelled him forward. Not only to follow the hound, but something else. Something deeper than that. It was that feeling he’d sensed earlier- that unending chill. Whatever had scared him so much about the place was beckoning him closer at the same time. 

Even knowing he might be making a horrible mistake, Phantom drifted through the wall. 

The hound was gone. He couldn’t see it anywhere in the empty room he emerged into, but the chill remained. He gazed around, his green eyes acting as beacons in the dark, trying to gather what he could about this new place he found himself in. It was huge, for one thing- It looked like maybe it had been a boiler room, once upon a time. The pipes around him were empty, the machinery silent… but there was more to the room than that. 

The hound was gone, but a presence remained. 

A presence… or many. 

The room was filled with whispers, and although something in the back of his mind was screaming at him to tear himself away, to run, to go, he couldn’t help but draw further into the room. Something was calling out to him. Something that felt like… 

...Like home. 

Entranced, Phantom made his way closer, and the room around him began to blur. 

light. life. home. 

A faint glow lay ahead. 

life. home. return. 

Phantom hesitated. It had seemed so welcoming for a moment, but the closer he drew, the stranger he felt.

home. return. accident. 

It was like the air ahead of him… rippled. 

return. accident. regret.

There was a strange feeling in his chest. He didn’t like it. 

accident. regret. hundreds… 

Something wasn’t right. The whispers were getting louder. 

regret. hundreds. help. 

Danny. Where was Danny? Phantom struggled to pull himself away, but everything felt… less than real. It felt like he’d take one wrong step- step? How long had it been since he could do that- and go tumbling into the inky darkness below. He felt unsteady. He felt wrong. 

hundreds. help. HELP. 

no-

help. HELP. HELP. 

let me GO-

J A M E S - 

“Phantom!” 

Tether. Life. Danny. Finally broken from his trance, Phantom whipped around just in time to see Danny rush into the room, Sam and Tucker in tow. Danny looked worried- of course he had. He’d felt it, hadn’t he? He reached out, and Phantom returned to him, curling his shadowy hand around his friend’s. It felt like being pulled from the brink of something terrible. It felt like safety. 

“Dude- what was that? I was just looking around when all of a sudden it felt like- like I was falling. I thought something had happened to you. Are you okay?” 

Phantom glanced back in the direction he’d been drawn towards, then looked back to Danny and shook his head. 

It’s fine

let’s, just… 

let’s just look somewhere else

i don’t like this room. 

Danny hesitated, gazing out into the boiler room beyond. Clearly there was something significant about the place… It might’ve been worth investigating. But strange rooms weren’t what they were here for, he didn’t see the hound, and one way or another- Phantom was more important to him than some stupid mystery. If there was something about the room that might hurt him, Danny was happy to get as far away from it as possible. 

“...Okay. Let’s go.” 

--- 

From the other side of the boiler room, a figure cloaked in red had watched. Unlike the other ghost hunters that were here tonight, she’d done her research. She knew what had happened here. 

Decades ago, someone had made a mistake. 

One small mistake. 

An accidental massacre. 

And when so many souls cross to the other side at the same time, the same place, the veil begins to thin. 

Valerie had come here for one ghost. She’d found another. And she’d watched, as the other side had beckoned him home. 

Then she’d watched him refuse. 

She let out a sigh, turning away. This place would have to be sealed, repaired, one way or another. There was something unstable about the state of the veil here, and she knew it couldn’t be left like that. 

The problem was, she had no idea how to fix it. This was advanced stuff, and for all the research she’d done, this remained beyond her. She didn’t know what to do. 

...But she did, however, know someone who might. 

---

Harriet Chin didn’t know what made her dig. 

Maybe she was losing it. This investigation- it had been taking its toll. It had been getting harder to keep it hidden from her peers. She’d taken to silencing her phone, ignoring texts, faking sick days. Surely her coworkers knew by now that something was off, but she couldn’t tell them the truth. 

Who would believe her?

A coverup of workplace deaths was one thing. Serial murder, that was another. 

But ghosts? 

Even Harriet was starting to believe that she was going crazy. 

But here she was, digging in the dirt behind Casper High, and she hardly even understood why she was doing it. It was like something was propelling her forward. Something unexplainable, something huge. Something like the truth. 

Or something completely nuts. Why am I here? 

She was about to give up and go home when her shovel struck something hard. Her breath caught, and she crouched down, brushing the dirt aside with her hand. 

She’d uncovered a box. It didn’t have a lock on it, so she opened it, and there it was. 

Here. Exactly where the presence from her dreams had said it would be. 

Now, the being hadn’t explained exactly what she’d find here. But night after night, it had given her the same vision, the same taunting hint. Come and find out. 

Holding the ruby pendant up in front of her, glittering in the faint glow of her dying flashlight, she knew that this was what she’d been sent here to find. 

The truth. 

And from behind the glittering ruby, sealed away, hidden, the being knew that she’d finally found the partner she’d been looking for. 

Hello, Harriet. 

Harriet nearly dropped the pendant, startling back a bit. That voice. She knew that voice. 

“Who- Who’s there?” 

From beyond the darkness, something grinned. No one. Everyone. Herself. 

My name is Penelope Spectra. My dear Harriet, can I just say… 

It’s wonderful to finally, properly, meet you. 

Chapter Text

May ?? 

Two more attacks since our valiant attempt at ghost hunting. God, I don’t even want to call it that, but… it’s gotta be done. 

I just hope that I can get my shit together before it’s too late. 

---

“So you’re saying… what, exactly?” 

i

i’m not sure. 

Something had been bothering Phantom since that night at Axion. Well… many somethings, but it was easier to focus on one of them. The one that didn’t fill him with deep, existential dread. 

The hound. 

He’d looked at it, and it had looked back, and… that was it. He felt like there should’ve been more. Claws, teeth, ectoplasm shed. 

Not… a wagging tail. A gentle boof. It didn’t feel right. 

i’m just

not sure if we’re doing the right thing. 

Danny looked at him, concerned, then back to the tiled floor below his feet, thinking. The two were headed to Danny’s locker to gather his things and head home for the day, and since they’d lingered for a while in his final class- ( he’d fallen asleep, ) -the hallway was mostly deserted. Perfect time to do what probably looked like talking to himself. 

“I dunno,” Danny said, after a moment of thought. “I mean… sure, it didn’t attack you, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t dangerous. Like, we’ve seen the proof. Maybe it only attacks humans?” 

maybe, Phantom conceded, then went quiet, not sure what else to say. He didn’t have any other evidence on his side aside from a feeling in his gut, and he knew that wasn’t much. 

He looked down at Danny’s hand, freshly bandaged. Although they hadn’t found the hound, he’d banished a few violent spirits that had taken their shots against him this week. The wound on his palm never seemed to get a chance to heal. Phantom’s pointed ears flattened a little as he stared, feeling a glimmer of guilt begin to blossom in his chest. 

…

does it hurt? 

“Huh?” Danny blinked in confusion, before realizing where Phantom’s gaze was pointed and holding up his hand. “This? Nah. Well… sort of, I guess, but I’m pretty used to it by now. Why?” 

Phantom only looked at him, and Danny realized then that the unexplained guilt he’d been feeling had been his. His expression softened. 

“Oh. Oh. Hey… don’t worry about that, okay? It’s not your fault.” 

Clearly Phantom didn’t believe him, so Danny reached out a hand and set it on his shadowy shoulder. Phantom blinked in surprise.

“C’mon, buddy. You’re the one ghost that’s never hurt me. Hell- I’d have a lot more bandages to work with if you weren’t there for me. Besides… you’re my friend. Don’t blame yourself, okay?” 

And because Danny couldn’t lie to him, Phantom knew that he was telling the truth. The guilt lessened, just slightly, and he gave a hesitant nod. 

okay. 

Danny gave him a reassuring smile, then headed over to his locker and started pulling out his stuff. Phantom floated there, watching. 

As Danny placed his pocket knife in the zippered pocket of his backpack, Phantom couldn’t help but wonder. If maybe, ghosts could be banished without bloodshed. If maybe, there might be another way. 

He didn’t get a chance to make it far with that train of thought, because Danny was already closing the locker and heading down the hallway. Maybe Phantom would’ve voiced his concerns aloud, but all of a sudden- 

“Shit-!” 

Danny had turned a corner at the same time as- as luck would have it- Valerie . The two went tumbling, just like before, except that this time the things spilling all over the floor were Valerie’s books. At least no one was covered in soda this time, but… 

“Crap… Sorry. We really have to stop meeting like this, huh?” Danny gave an awkward smile, looking up at Valerie as she stood, gathering her books and dusting herself off. 

Phantom’s eyes narrowed, and he ducked into a corner, out of sight. There was something about Valerie that made him uncomfortable, although he wasn’t sure what. 

Valerie looked at Danny, raising an eyebrow… but after a moment, she couldn’t help but chuckle at the utter ridiculousness of it all. The same accident, twice. 

“You’re telling me,” she said, then offered him a hand. 

Danny hesitated for a moment, feeling Phantom’s discomfort, but not understanding its source. Probably because he didn’t like strangers, Danny assumed. He reached out to take her hand, then winced and drew back as he realized he’d offered the bandaged one. 

“Sorry, uh…” He offered his uninjured hand instead, letting himself be pulled up. 

Valerie raised an eyebrow as he stood. “What happened to your hand?” 

“This? Um.” He quickly shoved his hand into his pocket. “Nothing important. Just, uh… fell.” 

“Fell?” 

“Yeah,” Danny said, wincing at how obvious it was that he was lying. “I fell, and, uh… scraped it.” 

If Valerie didn’t buy it, she didn’t say it aloud, but Danny caught an unmistakable look of concern in her expression. He looked away, although he was grateful that she didn’t call him out on it. He wasn’t feeling like making up another lie.

“...Mhm,” was all she said. “Well. Nice bumping into you again, Fenton.” 

“...Yeah.”

Valerie waved, then headed off, disappearing down the hall. Danny watched her go, frowning slightly. 

He wasn’t sure why, but something about her felt… familiar. 

---

“Axion,” said Valerie. “Axion labs. That’s where the ghost dog’s been coming from.” 

Vlad looked up from where he’d been pretending to peruse the library’s shelves. The books he’d brought for Valerie- his apparent new apprentice- couldn’t be found in any ordinary library, but she’d wanted to meet in a public place, so the library suited them both well enough. She sat at a nearby table, flipping through one of the tomes from his personal collection. 

It had been an uneasy alliance so far. Clearly something had been bothering her when she’d called the number on his business card to tell him she’d give his offer a try, but she hadn’t said much- not until now, at least. She’d spent most of their meeting alternating between looking through the books, reading them, and giving him suspicious looks. It was clear that she didn’t trust him. 

Smart, Vlad couldn’t help but think, feeling a tinge of bitterness as he remembered the circumstances in which “he’d” offered the apprenticeship in the first place. You shouldn’t. 

She’d told him about the ghost dog, though. The latest biggest ghostly threat around Casper High- or the biggest one she was willing to tell him about, at least. He turned to her, wondering how she came upon that piece of information. Axion. 

He knew about it, of course. Since his obsession with the supernatural had sparked into a fire, he’d done research into places like that lab. Places that had opened their doors for death and swept it inside like an honored guest. So many people killed at once… It came as no surprise that the place was haunted, although Vlad had never investigated it for himself. 

“And how did you find that out?” 

“Well… I knew it had to be coming from the forest. The attacks had been getting closer from there. So I looked it up to see if there was anything in the forest worth haunting, and… bingo.” 

“But the ghost is a hound,” Vlad offered, taking a curious step closer. “Weren’t the fatalities there mostly scientists?” 

“With guard dogs,” Valerie explained. “Saw the cages for myself.” 

She shuddered a little at the memory. Jaded as she was, the knowledge of what had happened scared her. It had been some sort of gas leak- a subtle poison, seeping through the vents and killing everyone that had shown up for work that day. Fast-acting. No time to run. 

Valerie preferred an enemy that she could see. 

“You went there?” Vlad’s eyes widened a little, surprised. The girl was braver than he’d given her credit for. 

“Yeah. That’s… what I wanted to talk to you about, actually.” 

Vlad frowned, closing the book he’d been holding. “Yes…?” 

“There’s something wrong with the place. It’s not just haunted. There’s the dog, yeah, but there’s something… else. Something worse.” She tapped a finger against the table, feeling uneasy. “Mr. Masters…” 

She looked up at him, then. 

“...I think there’s a tear in the veil.” 

Vlad froze, feeling a sudden chill- knowing that something about that statement had captured the demon’s interest. He hoped that it had the sense to stay hidden while Valerie was around. 

“A tear?” 

“Yeah, or… something like it. You feel it too, don’t you? The veil’s been getting thinner. Ghosts keep getting stronger and stronger… And they’re coming from all over, but I think Axion might be a hotspot. When I was there, in the room where the leak must’ve started, it was like I could feel hundreds of spirits, all around. Trying to get through. I could barely breathe.” 

The demon was hanging onto every word of this, curious in a way that Vlad wanted to shove back with a hot poker. 

“And…?” Vlad awkwardly adjusted his tie, trying to ignore the chill. 

“And I think we need to seal it,” Valerie said. “Otherwise things are just gonna keep getting worse. Problem is, I… don’t know how. I was hoping you would.” 

Vlad hesitated. 

“I… don’t,” he admitted, “But theoretically, I could try to find a way. I’ll look into it.” 

Valerie didn’t seem particularly reassured, but she gave a hesitant nod, knowing that was probably the best she could’ve hoped for. She’d keep looking into it herself. Between the two of them, maybe they could turn something up. 

“I’ll hold you to that,” she said, then returned to her book. 

There was silence for a while, before Valerie spoke up again. 

“...There’s this kid at my school. I’m worried about him.” 

Vlad looked up, raising an eyebrow. “Oh?” 

“He was there that night at Axion. I don’t think he saw me, though. I wanted to talk to him, but I’m… not sure if I can trust him. I think he’s possessed.” 

The demon chuckled at the irony, although the sound echoed within Vlad’s mind alone. He waved it away. 

“And who is this boy?” 

“Danny Fenton,” Valerie replied. She would have kept going, if not for the look of surprise on Vlad’s face. Usually his expression was carefully guarded, but he’d been getting sloppy lately, too focused on keeping the demon at bay, on keeping himself together at all. Now, hearing that name, the worry on his face was plain as day. Valerie’s eyes narrowed. “Acquaintance of yours?” 

He should’ve lied. Would’ve. But where Vlad saw a mistake, the demon saw an opportunity. Vlad shuddered, just slightly, then was calm- because he wasn’t Vlad at all. 

“He’s my nephew,” the demon said in Vlad’s voice, well aware of the problems this would cause. 

“So you know,” Valerie began, pushing her chair backwards a little. She felt uneasy. “You know about his shadow. What is it? Is it hurting him?” 

The thing that was not Vlad gave a somber nod, hoping its acting skills were up to par. 

“That,” it said, “Is exactly why I’m here in Amity Park. To help him. Because that thing…” 

It kept his expression carefully serious, resisting the urge to grin. 

“...Is a demon.” 

Inside their head, Vlad was frantic. 

What are you doing? 

That thing’s a pest, the demon thought back to him. If we’re ever going to repay Jack for what he did to us, it will have to be out of the way. We don’t want a repeat of last time, do we?  

But-

The demon tuned him out. 

Valerie, meanwhile, was frozen. A demon was not a spirit. A demon was not a ghost. A demon was a demon, and if that was what Danny’s shadow really was, then he was running out of time. Just like-

Red, what are you- 

She forced the memories away. She couldn’t break down. Not now. Not in front of anyone else. She clenched her fists, nails digging into her palms. 

“Are you sure?” she asked, hoping her voice wasn’t shaking. Focus. Here. Now. Safe. 

“Absolutely,” said the demon. “Daniel hasn’t been himself for months. He’s clearly been deteriorating. I’ve been trying to find a way to help him, but I fear it might be too late.” 

“No,” Valerie snapped, slamming a hand on the table, then wincing at the sound. She spoke again, quieter this time. “No. I’ll… I’ll figure something out.” 

She wasn’t entirely convinced. Didn’t want to believe it, honestly. But if someone was suffering like she had… could she really turn a blind eye? 

She’d spent so long cultivating a careful distance between herself and the other side. After everything that had happened, she hadn’t wanted anything to do with it, not anymore. But as the other side grew stronger, as her friends fell to the shadows around her… 

...Maybe it was time to do something about it. 

---

Phantom was feeling restless. 

He always seemed to be feeling restless these days, but the feeling was worse here, now, because it was time for another ghost hunt, and the one person who hated ghost hunting more than Danny was Phantom. 

They hadn’t returned to Axion since last time, and luckily they hadn’t needed to- because this time, they’d witnessed the attack themselves. The four of them had been out in the park helping Sam collect soil samples for a science project when all of them had spotted it- The hound, bounding across the grass and over a nearby hill. They hadn’t had much time to ponder how Sam and Tucker could see it too, because Sam had shoved her samples into her backpack and taken off running, leading the charge. Of course, the others had followed. 

They’d been too late. By the time the group crested the hill, they’d found no sight of the hound. Only a man, collapsed to the ground- unhurt but shivering, eyes wide with the horror of something unseen. Phantom had shrunk back from the sight, feeling conflicted. 

Eventually the man had returned to his senses, shakily standing and muttering something about dogs. They’d tried to ask him a few questions, but his responses weren’t very helpful. At some point he stopped answering their questions altogether, stumbling off- presumably in the direction of either a hospital, a bar, or home.

Now they were alone, walking through the park together as the sun set below the trees. 

“Could be worse,” Tucker joked. “We could still be stuck collecting dirt.” 

“Soil,” Sam corrected, “And I was done, anyway. Besides- We helped you dig around for spare computer parts in the junkyard, so you can help me dig up dirt.” 

She slung a playful arm around his shoulder, then another around Danny’s. Danny gave a halfhearted smile, leaning into the contact. Of course, he was feeling pretty grim after what they’d just seen… but sometimes all you could do was joke. Sometimes that could be a lifeline. 

Honestly, he just wanted to go home and have a movie night, curled up in a beanbag chair with his best friends. Maybe they’d get a chance later, if they didn’t all die in a ghost hunt tonight. 

Phantom didn’t know what he wanted. 

He flew up into the air, soaring above his friends to get a better view. The hound couldn’t have gotten far. He couldn’t see it, but… 

...but he could see something else. 

There was a playground. Most of the playgrounds around Amity Park these days were multicolor plastic or metal, but this one was wood. It reminded him of a castle, in a way, albeit one made of planks and nails. It felt familiar. 

He wasn’t sure what drew him there, but he drifted down towards it, snaking around the wooden beams until he was underneath the structure. It was a small space- small enough for a kid his size, and no one larger. It wasn’t stifling, though. It felt… comforting. Nostalgic. 

This had nothing to do with the ghost hunt, of course. The hound hadn’t been here. So why was he? He was about to shake off the familiar feeling and head back to his friends, when he spotted it. 

A message, hardly visible, carved into the wood of the structure. Old, but… not that old. Maybe ten years, if he had to guess, but he was no archaeologist. It didn’t matter. What mattered is what it said. 

I WAS HERE. 

i was here, Phantom whispered, reaching out to trace a shadowy finger across the etched words. Something, impossibly, was coming back to him. 

Running. Hiding. Waiting until he was absolutely sure he was safe, then letting the dam that he’d been holding in crack and crumble, releasing everything he’d been bottling up in a torrent of shaking sobs. It hadn’t been anything life threatening- depending on your definition of the word- just bullies. But at the time, it had hurt, and in that moment, he had never felt so alone. 

He’d never vandalized anything before- or committed any crime at all, really- but in that broken moment, he’d felt a need, deep down, to make some sort of mark. Anything. 

So he’d taken the old pocket knife- a gift from his father- from its usual place in his pocket, and carved at the underside of the structure. Tentative at first, marks light, but then going deeper as his resolve did the same. 

It hadn’t been anything more than that. Just a mark. 

I WAS HERE. 

But here, today, now- years past, in a different life, in death- It meant everything. 

Because as Phantom stared at the mark, he knew- despite how blurry the memories were, despite feeling as distant to that memory of a boy as he did to any other stranger- that it had been made by his hands. 

He was here. 

He might have stayed there for hours, transfixed by the one mark he knew he’d left on the world- but time didn’t stand still. It marched on, and so did his friends, and so did the ghosts and strangers around him. A howl echoed through the air, and Phantom knew that he had to go. 

i’ll be back, he said, to no one in particular. 

Then he flew out from underneath the structure, rushing towards the source of the sound. 

---

It couldn’t be far. 

Valerie had been heading home from Star’s place when she’d gazed into the park and spotted it- The hound, standing there, staring. One moment there, the next, gone- flickered off into elsewhere in the park. It was pure chance, really, that she’d turned her head at the right moment- but sometimes that was enough. 

She’d zipped up her jacket, pulled its red hood over her head, then given chase. 

At some point she’d lost it, but the thing was around here somewhere, and if she could stop it before it hurt anyone else, then she’d do what she could. 

Some part of her wished that she could go back to the way it used to be. Minding her own business. Even now, she wanted nothing to do with ghosts… but the other side was coming for her and her friends, whether she liked it or not, so she may as well shoot first. She couldn’t stick her head in the sand anymore, not after everything that had happened. Not after what she’d learned. And not when the worst was still yet to come. 

So here she was. 

The familiar chill guided her forward, and she wrapped her scarf up tighter, despite knowing that this wasn’t the sort of chill that warm clothes could stop. It must be close. A howl cut through the air, confirming her suspicions. She pulled her pocket knife from the inner pocket of her jacket- freshly coated in blood blossom perfume- then broke into a run, sprinting through a thin stretch of trees. 

Then she saw it. 

Not only the hound, but the shadow, too.

Danny’s shadow. 

Apparently it had found the hound before she had. Danny himself was nowhere to be seen, but the shadow floated across from the hound, one clawed hand outstretched. They were a few meters apart, and the hound stared back, silent. 

Then, in a move she’d curse herself for later, Valerie stepped on a branch. 

Both spirits looked towards her at once, and she gasped, stumbling backwards. The shadow spotted the knife in her hands and hissed, placing itself between Valerie and the hound. Clearly it could sense the knife’s power. Clearly it knew what she intended to use it for. 

Because who else but a ghost hunter would have something like that? 

The hound let out a bark, then bounded in the other direction, disappearing across the hill. Valerie swore under her breath, then took a step back as the spirit looked back to her, staring at the knife in her hand. Her scarf was pulled up over her nose, her hood pulled low, and through the darkness, she wasn’t sure if the thing could see her face. She hoped it couldn’t. She didn’t know if it would matter, one way or another. Tentatively, she held up the knife. 

“Stay back,” she muttered. “I know what you are.” 

The creature’s eyes widened, clearly surprised. Maybe it hadn’t expected her to be able to see it. 

She had to get out of here. She’d come prepared to exorcise the hound, sure, but if Vlad was right and this was really a soulbound demon, she’d need more than what she had. If she tried to fight it now, it'd easily kill her. 

Red-

She shoved down the memories once again, gritting her teeth. This wasn’t happening, not here, not now. She was smarter than that. 

Quick as she could, she pulled a velvet pouch from her pocket- filled with blood blossom petals. Before the thing could stop her, she scattered them across the ground in front of her to form a barrier between them, then ran, going fast as her legs could carry her until she was sure that she wasn’t being pursued. 

She didn’t stay long enough to see the thing make an attempt at following, get close enough to the flowers for it to burn, fall down with a breathless gasp. 

She didn’t see it try to pull itself away, pain blossoming throughout its body in a way that felt like fire, didn’t hear it let out an agonized wail. 

Nor did she see its friends come to its rescue, Danny falling down beside it, because she didn’t know that he would feel that pain too. She didn’t see him fall to his knees and pull the spirit into his arms, hugging it tight while Sam- well-versed by now in ghost-related flora- shouted something, didn’t see her and Tucker jump into action, gathering up the flowers and getting them as far away from their friends as possible. She didn’t see them return, didn’t see the four of them gather each other up in a desperate group hug, asking each other- Are you okay? Who did this?  

She didn’t even know that Phantom wasn’t a creature at all, not the demon she thought he was, but the echo of a human being. 

All she knew is what had happened the last time she’d hesitated. All she knew is what happened the last time she thought that a demon could be trusted. All she knew is what she’d lost. 

Valerie ran until her legs went numb, then stumbled, catching herself against a lamp post and breathing heavily. She wiped the sweat from her brow with a shaky hand, no longer feeling any sort of chill. 

She was entirely, utterly alone. 

It had been a close call. If she’d waited- (assuming the shadow was what she thought it was)- she might be dead by now. She’d been on edge lately, especially after what had happened with that shadowy ghost that had nearly killed her. Now she knew she’d been right to be. 

...Ghost. 

Had that thing back then been a ghost at all? 

I can’t think about that now. She had enough to worry about as it was, and she hadn’t seen the thing since Vlad had saved her from it. It was strange, what the brain could bring to mind when it was panicked. 

One demon at a time. 

Valerie shook her head, then headed off in the direction of home. One way or another, this couldn’t last. She needed to make a plan. A way to exorcise the thing, once and for all. 

She wouldn’t let a demon kill anyone else. Not if she could stop it this time. 

I love you, Mom, she thought, sending a message out into the dark. She didn’t know where it would land, didn’t think anyone would be able to hear it… but she did it anyway. Sometimes it wasn’t faith, but love, that kept you going. 

I love you. 

And I won’t let it happen again.

Chapter Text

i was there. 

---

It was safe to say that the ghost hunt hadn’t gone as intended. Not only had they lost the hound, but they’d nearly lost each other, too. 

Now Sam, Tucker, and Danny sat together on the floor of Tucker’s bedroom, leaning against each other as Tucker cycled through Netflix titles. Danny was wrapped tight in one of his friend’s blankets. The shivers had taken a while to fade after what had happened- an incident that still remained largely a mystery. He wished he could give the blanket to Phantom, who clearly needed it even more than he did, but he already knew that the fabric would fall right through him. 

“We need to talk about what happened,” Danny finally said, after having been silent for the past several minutes. 

“You’re telling me,” Sam said, glancing over at him. “Blood blossoms… I thought ghost hunters quit using those centuries ago. Who was that?”

“No clue,” Danny replied. “I didn’t see their face.” 

He looked to Phantom, who was curled up somewhere beside him. The ghost lifted his head, then shook it- a silent me neither. The girl had most of her face covered, and he’d been distracted by the haze of partially recovered memories and the pain of the blood blossoms. He hadn’t recognized her. 

Speaking of recovered memories… they hadn’t left his mind. Unlike the memories Spectra had offered- briefly brandished like a carrot on a stick and then torn away again, these ones had stayed. It wasn’t much- He remembered a brief place, a brief time. He remembered the bullies, and how they’d made him feel. He remembered how alone he’d felt, the feeling that had driven him to making that mark in the wood.

But he didn’t remember who he was. He didn’t remember anything else. 

“I guess this just means you gotta be careful, dude,” said Tucker, nudging Danny with his elbow. “Looks like we’ve got more than ghosts to look out for.” 

“Yeah,” Danny said, then sighed and leaned his head on Tucker’s shoulder. “...But let’s worry about it tomorrow. I’m sick of stuff trying to kill me. Can we watch Pacific Rim?” 

“Great taste as always, my friend,” said Tucker, ruffling Danny’s hair before selecting the movie. 

Phantom stayed where he was for a while, although he eventually floated up to pace around the room. Danny, on the other hand, dozed off. He loved the movie to bits, but he’d seen it at least three times, and he was exhausted. By the time the movie ended, he was out cold. 

Sam and Tucker stayed where they were, deep in thought. 

“I saw the dog,” Sam said, finally. Phantom looked over at her, eyes widening slightly. 

“Same,” said Tucker. “I dunno why I didn’t stop to think about how weird that was.” 

“Do you think…?”

“Dunno. Maybe some of Danny’s weirdness is rubbing off on us.” 

It wasn’t an insult- Tucker used weirdness like a compliment. Sam nodded, frowning slightly, then turned her head to the empty space in the room. 

“Phantom…? You’re there, right?” 

Phantom felt a flicker of hope, despite himself. If they could see the dog, did that mean…? 

i’m here, he spoke out, loudly as he could manage- although his loudest wasn’t much. 

i’m here. can you hear me? 

“Did you hear something?” Tucker said, following Sam’s gaze. 

Both of them were looking right through Phantom- a feeling that Phantom was used to by now, although his pointed ears drooped with disappointment. For a moment, he had hoped. 

“Almost,” Sam said, her voice quiet. “I could barely hear it, but it sounded like… I’m here. Phantom, was that you?”

Phantom looked up, the hope reigniting. 

it was me, he said, then repeated it. i’m here. 

Sam stared for a while, then shook her head, sighing. “...I dunno. We’re gonna have to find a better way.” 

But it was something. It was something. Even if it had been faint- faint enough to dismiss as nothing- he’d been heard, at least a little bit. The hope remained. 

“We’ll figure it out,” Tucker said. “You hear that, buddy? We’ll find a way. There’s gotta be some way to talk to ghosts besides… y’know. We’ll figure it out.” 

And for a moment, however brief, even if Tucker and Sam’s gazes had gone right through him and found nothing… Phantom felt seen. 

---

It didn’t last, of course. 

The blood blossoms must have had some sort of lasting effect, because both Danny and Phantom woke up feeling awful. They’d managed to drag themselves to school, and the moment Tucker and Sam split off for their respective classes, feelings of doubt and isolation began to set in once again. They had friends on their side, and that meant the world, but there were also those that wanted them dead or banished. The realities of the night before had started to set in, and the two of them had found themselves checking over their shoulder every now and then, watching for dirty looks, for red jackets. 

And then, of course, there was Dash. 

Dash Baxter was always annoying at best, but today he clearly had some point to prove, some vendetta, or some misplaced anger that he needed to get out. His target of the day, of course , was Danny.

Phantom felt the ghosts of the past brush around him like strangers in a crowd. He bristled, letting out a quiet hiss as Dash strolled up to Danny, who was busy rummaging around in his locker. The jock had that smug sort of look on his face, like he was itching to start a fight. Very punchable, Danny thought. Phantom’s thoughts were less charitable. 

“Hey, Fenton.” 

“Not today, Dash,” Danny huffed, shoving the locker closed and turning to walk away. 

Dash looked annoyed by this. Danny had been afraid of him, once upon a time. Something had clearly happened to him over the past few months, although obviously Dash would have no way of knowing the cause. After staring down the other side, an ordinary bully really didn’t seem so scary anymore. 

Of course, this didn’t suit Dash at all.

“I was talking to you,” he said, then reached out and tugged on Danny’s backpack, stopping him in his tracks. Something about the action made Phantom stiffen. Danny gritted his teeth, tugging away then turning to face him. 

“Okay, then. Spit it out. We’ve both got class to get to.” 

“See, this. This is what I wanted to talk about. What’s up with you, Fenton? You’ve been weird lately.”

“What, you’re not worried about me, are you?” Despite the sarcasm, Danny’s tone was flat.

Dash rolled his eyes. “Hell no. But anyone with eyes can see that there’s something wrong with you. It’s creepy.” 

Phantom’s claws curled into fists. 

“Like… you’re always talking to yourself, and my buddy swears up and down that he saw your eyes glowing the other day. Creepy shit’s been happening lately, and you always seem to be in the middle of it. What’s up with that?” 

Once upon a time, Danny would’ve cowered. Now, he held his ground, staring Dash down. 

“Leave it alone,” he warned. 

“What, you got something to hide? Maybe it’s got something to do with your weird parents.” 

Phantom let out a low hiss. 

“Dash.” 

“Or maybe you’re just some sort of freak-” 

Several things happened at once. 

Dash moved to shove Danny. 

Danny stepped backwards to dodge. 

Phantom snapped. 

The lightbulb above them shattered with a piercing clatter, sending glass showering over Dash. As he moved to try to shove Danny again, an invisible force knocked him down, sending him falling to a heap on the ground. Only Danny could see its source- Phantom, floating between him and Dash, green eyes alight with a fiery rage. For a moment, Danny was stunned. Phantom had never been able to touch anyone aside from mediums before, nor would he if given the option- aside from when the two of them were fighting ghosts, the spirit was generally timid and shy. This wasn’t like him at all. 

“Dude,” Danny said, reaching out a hand, “What are you doing?” 

But Phantom wasn’t all there. The past was catching up with him, hard and fast- He’d been here before. The same hallways, the same bullies- Not Dash, obviously, but they were always the same, weren’t they? The biggest, the toughest, and the ones who could get away with picking on people for the sole crime of being different. For a moment, he was there again- unable to fight back. 

Freak. 

And then he returned to the present, blinking in confusion. Dash stared up at Danny- through Phantom- incredulous. He clambered to his feet, taking a step forward and rolling up his sleeves. 

“The hell, Fenton? You’re gonna regret-” 

“Stop!”  

They weren’t alone anymore. Danny looked towards the source of the voice, and there she was. 

Valerie. 

Valerie Gray strode right up to the brewing fight in front of her, grabbed Dash by the arm, and tugged him back before he could throw a punch. Dash blinked at her, surprised. 

“Go,” she said, in a tone that left no room for argument. 

“Val, what-” 

“I’ll explain later, just go-”  

“Mr. Fenton, Ms. Gray, Mr. Baxter, what is going on here?”

As if things couldn’t possibly get any worse, it seemed the commotion hadn’t gone unnoticed. Mr. Lancer, who currently held the position of most exhausted teacher in Casper High, walked up to the group. He’d been teaching for long enough to know a fight when he saw it, and this was clearly trouble. Add a broken lightbulb to the mix, and you were left with more trouble than anyone wanted to deal with. 

“Principal’s office, now. ” 

Valerie looked shocked. “But-” 

“No buts, Ms. Gray.” 

“Wait,” Danny stepped forward. “Seriously, she didn’t do anything. It was just me and Dash.” 

Lancer and Valerie looked at him, looking thoughtful and surprised, respectively. 

“...Well,” Mr. Lancer said, “You can explain that to Principal Ishiyama. Come on now, and don’t step on the broken glass.” 

---

At least the principal had believed him. Valerie ended up free from detention, thanks to Danny- and to his credit, Dash- insisting that she’d had nothing to do with the fight, nor the lightbulb. 

Dash and Danny weren’t so lucky. 

Now Danny sat alone at a desk, fidgeting with a pencil. Dash sat on the opposite side of the room, occasionally shooting Danny a dirty look. Aside from Lancer, reading a book by his desk at the front of the room, they were entirely alone. 

Entirely alone. 

That was what had been nagging at Danny the most. Not the detention, not even the strangeness of Valerie’s intervention, although he was definitely thinking about that too. No- the thing that bothered him the most about all of this was the fact that he hadn’t seen Phantom since. Of course, he could feel the tether between them, but that only eased his worry a little. He wished that he could talk to him, but the tether could only convey feelings, not thoughts, and Danny had no idea where he was. 

Unfortunately, that wasn’t a mystery he could solve right now. It wasn’t like he could just waltz out of detention and look for him, much as he wanted to. Like it or not, all he could do at the moment was sit there and think. 

He found his thoughts drifting back to Valerie. She’d stopped the fight, but why? He didn’t understand why she’d done what she’d done, but she might’ve saved him from a broken nose. Something told him that wasn’t why she’d done it, though. He’d looked at her as they’d marched together to the principal’s office, caught her eye- but while there was a twinge of sympathy in her expression, it was mostly guarded suspicion. Had she done it for him, or had it been for another reason? 

Danny didn’t know. He wished that he could ask her. 

Maybe he would’ve continued down that line of thought, but he didn’t get the chance. A familiar chill shot down his spine, and he gripped the edge of his desk, tensing up. 

Really? Now? 

Well. He didn’t exactly have a choice, now, did he? 

He raised his hand, shooting Lancer a sheepish smile.

“Uh… Can I go to the restroom?” 

---

There’s something ethereal about traversing a school hallway after everyone’s gone home for the day. 

Even more so when you’re dead. 

As Phantom drifted idly through the hallways, he looked around and saw echoes of the past that had been erased from his mind. He didn’t know why it had taken so long for him to see it. 

i was here. 

There was the locker he’d been regularly shoved into- or was it that other one? Or was it in the next hallway over? 

There was the music room- He’d hide there during lunch and try to ignore the world around him. Or maybe he’d gone under the bleachers. Or near the pool. 

There was where he’d fallen down the stairs. Or had he been pushed? Or had it happened a floor up or down? Was that the only time it had happened?

Maybe he didn’t remember yet, not really. Not places. But feelings? He remembered those. 

He’d never liked this place very much. He’d always assumed that it was Danny’s own distaste of school leaking through their tether, but maybe the feeling had been his own all along. 

Time had flown by since the incident earlier. He didn’t know what had come over him back then.

Freak. 

...Or maybe he did. 

He’d be lying if he said he didn’t regret it. As much as he hated Dash, as much as he hated what Dash represented… He didn’t want to hurt anyone. The fact that he’d been able to interact with the mortal world should’ve been exciting, but he hated that his first foray into it had been that . 

Phantom wanted to hug his friends. He wanted to eat good food. He wanted to pet a dog. He wanted to live. 

Teeth, claws… Shattering lights, snarling, slashing? That wasn’t him. Maybe it was what the afterlife had in mind for him, but it wasn’t him. 

He refused to be the monster that he was expected to be. Even if Dash kind of deserved it. 

should get back, he thought. Danny must be worrying by now... He hadn’t meant to be gone for so long. 

And then everything shifted. 

What was liminal before was all of a sudden otherworldly. A chill came over him, like someone had left a window open into a world where it was still winter. Something was here. 

Feeling eyes on the back of his neck, Phantom turned, and there it was: The dog. The creature, shadowy as ever, the glow of its red eyes piercing the artificial fluorescent light of a school after hours. It swayed its ethereal tail, let out- once again- a soft boof, then bounded through the wall. 

Phantom would’ve followed, if not for the sound of footsteps from the hallway nearby. 

His first thought was that it must be Danny. He must’ve felt it, after all; If Phantom had felt the chill, then Danny would too. 

But it couldn’t be Danny. The tether stretched tight between them- Clearly, he was still far off. Whoever this was must be someone else entirely. 

Nervous, Phantom pressed himself against the wall, vanished, and waited. 

Someone stepped into the center of the hallway, staring down to the end. Someone wearing a jacket with a red hood. 

Phantom froze. 

She wasn’t wearing her scarf this time. No- Phantom knew who this was. 

“I know you’re there, demon,” Valerie hissed. “So come on out. Come and get me. ” 

She took off, sneakers squeaking as she sprinted around the corner, away from him. 

Phantom had absolutely no intention of following. He couldn’t understand why she was so convinced that he was some kind of demon. He didn’t know what she wanted from him, or what she thought he wanted from her, but he wasn’t going anywhere near her again. 

That is, until another shadow bounded out of the darkness, heading fast in the direction she’d disappeared in. The dog. The being that had absolutely no business being anywhere near a ghost hunter, wouldn’t know how to run, wouldn’t have anyone to protect it… 

He had to stop it, before it was too late. 

Working up all the courage he had, he followed, hoping he wasn’t making a terrible mistake. 

The hallways almost seemed to shift as he zipped through them, losing sight of the dog almost immediately. Memories of years ago flooding his senses. Running in a different time, for a different reason. Much as he wanted to cling to it, he shoved it away. The door was open ahead of him. 

He zipped through, searching around for the hound, and finding no signs of it. It seemed like an ordinary classroom, almost, although the chairs had been shoved out of the way, leaving space on the floor for- 

The door slammed shut behind him, and there stood Valerie, a container of salt in her hand. She tipped the rest of it out, and as he realized what she was doing, it was already too late. 

He was sealed. 

The salt circle below him formed an intricate pattern across the floor, runes scattered across it. Something seemed almost familiar about it. 

Then he knew why. It was just like the circle that had been used to bind him to Danny, but with the symbols inverted. 

He realized then what exactly it meant. 

---

Valerie had done her research. 

If Danny had made a pact with that demon, she couldn’t just destroy it, not if she wanted to save his life. Using the blood blossoms had been a reckless move, and she regretted it bitterly, having worried about its consequences from the moment she’d done it to the moment she saw Danny at school that morning, safe. It could have been so much worse. She’d sworn that when she did this for good, she’d do it right. 

So she’d thrown herself into the books Vlad had given her. There was a particular page that had caught her attention a while ago, and she knew now that the time to use it was today. She couldn’t let this go on any longer. Not with what this must be doing to Danny. She knew what demons were capable of. 

So she’d prepared. She’d found an unoccupied room, set the circle up, double checking it against the book at least thirty times to make sure it all looked right. She couldn’t mess this up. 

She’d prepared herself for anything. For if she had to force it into the circle. For if it tried to possess her. For if it tried to fight. For if Danny got involved. She hadn’t needed to, in the end, because it had taken the bait, and it had all gone according to plan. 

What she hadn’t prepared herself for was the terror on the thing’s face as it realized what she’d done. 

no, it stuttered, in a softer voice than she’d been expecting. nononono. please- please don’t do this-

“Save it,” she snapped, although the tremor in her voice was unmistakable. “It’s over, demon. I’m not letting you hurt him anymore.”

It should’ve felt like justice, but it didn’t. This didn’t feel right. He didn’t sound like a monster, he sounded like… a kid. 

You know that means nothing, she insisted to herself, trying to force her resolve back into place. Demons can sound like anything. You thought Red was harmless too, didn’t you? 

But as it heard her words, the alleged demon almost seemed to shrink, its eyes going wide. 

i’d

i’d never- 

It shook its head quickly, coming to the edge of the salt barrier and pounding its fist against an unseen wall.

if you exorcise me, 

he’ll die too 

please don’t hurt him 

It closed its eyes, drifting down to the floor and staying there. If she didn’t know better, she’d think it was almost… crying. 

please. 

“I-” Valerie’s eyes went wide, and she took a step back. “I’m- I’m not going to hurt him! All this- You know why I’m doing this. I’m sure you do. I’m saving his life- From you.” 

She clenched her fists. 

“I’m not stupid. I know that a soulbond means I can’t exorcise you without hurting him. That’s why I’m going to undo it first.” 

The shadow’s eyes went wide again. what? 

“If I just break the bond first… Then the only one who gets taken down here is you.” 

It shrank back from her. She hated this- How scared it looked, as if she were the monster here. 

i’m not a demon, it pleaded. please-

“Just- Just quit it!” She tossed down the empty jar of salt, shattering it on the ground. This felt wrong. This felt so incredibly wrong. “I’m not happy about this, okay? I just wanna get it over with. I just… can’t watch a demon do this to someone again. Not when I could do something to stop it.” 

It stared at her. 

...again?  

Valerie took a shaky breath, staring down at the shards of glass around her feet. She didn’t know why she was hesitating so much, why she didn’t just do this already so she could get back to pretending she couldn’t see the shadows around her. She didn’t know why she felt like she owed this thing an explanation when for all she knew, it was feeding off of Danny’s life like a parasite and wouldn’t stop until he was dead. 

Maybe she couldn’t do it. 

Or maybe she just needed to remind herself why she had to. 

“My mom had a soulbond, once. The demon’s name was Red, though I didn’t know what she was back then. I believed her when she said all she wanted to do was help us.” She closed her eyes. “She was my best friend.” 

The creature didn’t interrupt. It just stared at her, green eyes wide. 

“But she was lying. She was just using my mom to stay here. And every day she stayed, my mom got a little weaker, and Red got a little stronger. Then eventually, Mom didn’t have enough left for Red to take, so she came for me.” 

The image was seared into her mind, even now. Her mom lying half-conscious on the floor while Valerie tried to get to her, knowing each step she took was going to get harder. She couldn’t run anymore, because Red was everything. Everything was Red. 

But Audrey Gray remained the strongest person she knew. 

It had happened in flashes. Some pieces seared to her memory, some pieces missing entirely. The last thing she remembered was her mother standing in front of her, bringing a knife across her palm and speaking the words that would remove Red from this side of the veil entirely. 

...Taking herself with her. 

“...And so Mom stopped her. Now they’re both gone.” 

She pulled the knife from her jacket pocket, holding it tight enough to hurt. 

“So why should I believe you when you say you’re not a demon? Give me one good reason why I should spare you, if it means letting Danny die. One good reason.” 

But the creature didn’t have time to give an answer, because at that exact moment, several things happened at once. 

The lights began to flicker. Danny burst through the door, took one look at the scene in front of him, and kicked over a water cooler, splashing it across the salt and destroying the circle. Valerie whirled to look at him, about to say something- 

Then the ghost hound leapt straight through the wall, let out an earsplitting bark, and tackled Valerie to the ground.

“Fuck- Phantom, get out of here!” Danny called out, reaching out a hand for his friend. “Get out of here, I’ll handle this-” 

But Phantom didn’t move. Valerie shrieked, trying to push the dog off of her- but while Valerie saw an attack, Phantom saw something else. 

The dog didn’t bite her. It only nuzzled her, its tail wagging from side to side. 

It didn't look like a monster. It just looked like… a normal dog. A normal dog that just wanted some attention, just like anyone else would. It couldn't help being what it was.

Phantom looked to Danny, then looked to the dog, pressed fingers to where his own mouth should be and let out a sharp whistle. The dog stopped, lifted its head, then looked at him. 

Phantom held out his hand. 

c’mere, boy. it’s okay. 

Wagging its tail, the dog stepped off of Valerie, who immediately sat up, gasping. It trotted over to Phantom, then pressed its head against his hand and let out a soft boof. Phantom realized then what it had wanted all along. 

So he pet it. A good pat, too. The dog flipped over for a bellyrub, and Phantom obliged. 

Both Danny and Valerie stared in dumbstruck silence. 

Soon enough, the dog had flipped back over to sit up. It let out another boof, then lifted its back leg to paw at its neck. There was a collar there, Phantom realized. He reached out and unclipped it. 

Cujo, it read. 

As soon as he’d read it, it disappeared, fading away into nothingness. The dog stood, shook itself off, then licked Phantom’s ghostly face. It nodded its head at him… and then just like that, it was fading as well. 

And then it was gone. 

“What…” Valerie managed to say, using the wall for support as she stood up, “What did you do?” 

i think, 

Phantom said quietly, 

that he just wanted somebody to see him. 

And now that somebody finally had, the dog was ready to go. 

Phantom drifted out of the circle, looking up at Valerie. 

you were hurt, he said, and i’m sorry. 

He wasn’t talking about the dog. 

...but you were wrong about me.

i’m not a demon

i’m not a monster 

and i never was. 

i’m a person. 

do you believe me now? 

Valerie was too shocked to speak. Phantom looked at her for a moment, before turning to Danny, nodding, and drifting out the door. Danny looked back to Valerie, his expression conflicted, before turning and following him out. 

And so Valerie was alone. 

Some part of her wanted to call out to them, to explain, to ask them to explain, too. But she couldn’t seem to find the words. After everything that had happened, after everything she’d nearly done… she needed to process. 

So she picked a spot against the wall, away from the glass shards. Pressing her back against it, she slid down until she was sitting on the floor, knees curled up to her chest. 

Even after all that. Even after all the research she’d done, all the training, all she thought she knew and was capable of. Even after how hard she tried to make herself jaded, tried to make herself tough so the world couldn’t hurt her… She was still a fifteen year old girl who had lost her mom hardly a year ago. She’d been trying to do the right thing, and made horrible mistakes in the process, and all she could think about now was what her mom would think if she could see her now. 

So she buried her head in her arms, and for the first time in ages, she let herself cry. 

--- 

It didn’t take her long to remember something she had been told. Something she had believed, that perhaps she shouldn’t have. 

Vlad Masters had told her that Danny’s shadow was a demon. He’d led her to believe that the boy was dying, that he’d be gone for good if someone didn’t step in to save him. 

Why? 

Maybe the shadow was just a brilliant actor. Maybe it had been a demon all along. But if so- How would Vlad know? Danny certainly didn’t seem to think it was a threat, from the way he’d saved it- him…? Him. From the way he’d saved him. So if Danny hadn’t told Vlad about it… then who had? 

There had to be an answer to all this, and Valerie was going to find out exactly what it was. 

Chapter Text

An empty lot behind the school. The underside of an old wooden structure. A place in the forest where the police won’t think to dig, if you’re lucky. 

An abandoned laboratory. 

These places carry remnants. The past has a way of sneaking in and staying, see. It’s not quite so keen to stay dead as you might think. 

Some things cannot be buried. 

The hidden things of the world are waking up. 

We’re getting to the end, now. You’ve made it this far. You’ve hung on even in a world that forced you into the shadows. 

But you’re still here.

You were here. 

And it’s not over yet. 

---

I’m running out of time. 

The phrase repeated itself like a metronome—over and over, over and over—as Vlad Masters stumbled through the door of his hotel room, slammed it shut behind him, and promptly fell to his knees on the floor, burying his face in his hands. He couldn’t stop shaking. 

I’m running out of time. I’m running out of time. 

The demon stalked through the door behind him, took one look at their surroundings, before tearing the nearest pillow to shreds. It snarled, dropping the ruined fabric to the floor, before turning on Vlad.

Again, again, again, you fail me. What do I have to do to make you understand that we can’t handle another failure? You know what it takes to survive. Why—why now have you chosen to become WEAK? 

Vlad didn’t respond. The demon lunged at him, grabbing him by his collar and throwing him across the room. Vlad hit the wall, slid down, then struggled up to his feet. Weak as he felt, he wasn’t keen to be tossed about like a ragdoll. 

“Oh, so that was all me?” he hissed, eyes lighting up magenta as he squared his shoulders towards the demon. “I’m willing to accept blame for last time, but this? This one was you.”  

Another failed attempt at stealing a life for the demon’s supply. Another. Another. Another. 

They used to be so efficient, the two of them. What had happened?

The demon was getting sloppy. The two of them had always intricately planned their murders—sending out bribes, threats, blackmail, getting the victim alone, making sure it was somebody who wouldn’t be missed. They couldn’t afford to be caught. 

Now? Vlad had to reel the demon back from any random person on the street, like their tether was the leash of a badly trained dog. In a fit of desperation, they’d nearly caught some stranger in an alleyway— He could’ve been anyone, couldn’t he? Important? Missed?— But they hadn’t blocked off the exits, and the man had fled. It was just luck that he hadn’t gotten a good look at Vlad himself. He hadn’t seen the demon either, obviously—Must’ve been an anxious sort, to start running at a mere bad feeling. The demon had gone for it, tearing at the man’s jacket, but to no avail. Nothing. 

They had nothing. 

Vlad stared down the demon, fists clenched, before sighing and turning away, brushing shaky fingers through his hair. Keep it together. Keep. It. Together. 

“We need to go back home,” he said. “We’ll find another employee. Call a private meeting. That would work.” 

And will you even survive the trip? 

Vlad couldn’t respond to that, because something had grabbed his attention. A card placed upon the hotel room’s desk that certainly hadn’t been there before. He could have sworn he’d requested that no housekeeper enter the place. 

Uneasy, he picked it up and opened it. 

It was unmarked, unsigned. There was no indication of who could have possibly sent it. All that was written on it was a date and time— Tomorrow, sunset— and a single sentence. 

I know what you are. 

Five little words, and they shook him to his core. He dropped the paper as if it had burned him, and it fluttered back down to the desk, landing facedown to reveal what was on its other side.

A location. 

Axion. 

Vlad stared at it for a very long time, before slamming his hand down on the desk and swiping everything on it onto the floor. The demon watched. 

“Someone knows,” Vlad hissed. “Someone knows. Someone knows—” 

Knows what? the demon growled. It drifted to where the card had fallen, delicately lifting it between two clawed fingers to read it. Well, Vladimir. What ARE you to them, I wonder? Medium, or murderer? 

“How are you so calm about this?” Vlad asked, whirling around. “If they know—” 

Then we silence them, the demon said simply. Two birds. One stone. 

Vlad was silent. 

He remained silent, as the card crumbled to ash in the demon’s fingers. 

---

It was getting worse. 

No, it had never been this bad. Vlad had been a fool to assume he’d be alright for sunset, that this was just a thing he could sleep off after yesterday’s failure. That the other side could just wait. This wasn’t something he could put off like this—He knew that. He knew that. 

And now a man stood behind him in the mirror as he straightened his tie to prepare himself for whatever waited in the woods. 

The man was bearded, with long hair so blond it skirted the edge of white, tired lines by his eyes, eyes that would have seemed so kind if not for the fact that they were empty. 

Vlad had seen this man before. He remembered the way he’d pleaded as he realized what was going to happen to him. He remembered the way he’d ignored him and allowed the demon to do what he must. What he couldn’t understand was why it was him haunting him beyond the mirror’s glass. Why not Price? Price hadn’t struggled so much, but he’d been the last to go. It would make sense for him to still be hanging on. 

What did Clay Morris want with him? 

…Besides the obvious. 

Usually only the demon could see these remnants. It never minded them. It was funny— That was what it had told him once, the first time he’d seen a remnant in the mirror and demanded to know why the soul was still there. Why it hadn’t disappeared. 

Where else would they go? the demon had responded. It’s not as if they can ever pass on. 

Vlad had gone numb. 

He felt numb now, as he yanked on his tie and turned away from the man he’d killed all those years ago. 

He had an appointment to keep. 

---

As the two of them drew closer to their destination, the demon’s tug on Vlad grew stronger and stronger. By the time they reached the fence, it was practically dragging him, more eager than he’d expected to see the place. He wasn’t sure why it was so excited, but he didn’t like it. Anything that excited the demon could not possibly be a good sign.

Only once they’d reached the fence did it stop. It looked like it wanted to go even further, but knew they had someone to meet, and whatever was in there wasn’t quite enough to pull it away from the prospect of a new victim. Still—It stared beyond the fence, transfixed, for the entirety of the several minutes it took for somebody to show up. It reminded Vlad of a moth pressing itself up against a window, drawn to the light inside. 

What was it the girl was telling us? it mused. About the rift here… 

“That we need to close it,” Vlad replied, apprehensive. “The veil’s damaged here. It needs to be fixed.” 

Does it? 

Vlad’s eyes went wide, and he took a step forward, about to say something— But he never got the chance. At that moment, a strong chill ran down his spine, and he whirled around to try to see what had caused it. 

Red eyes peered out of the darkness. 

Their correspondent had arrived. He’d assumed that they would be human, but from the glow, from the weight of the power that he could sense from them, they had to be anything but that. 

A twig cracked. 

Even the demon was on edge now. It flexed its claws. 

But then—

Then, there she was. When Vlad saw her, he couldn’t help but do a double take—because he’d seen her before, he’d seen her recently, and it hadn’t been anything like this. 

Harriet Chin. His college classmate. His once-but-no-longer friend. The only reporter brave enough to catch the scent of the things he’d done. 

A medium. 

“You?” he sputtered. 

“Us,” said the thing that was not Harriet. 

Vlad noticed then what hadn’t been there before. A ruby red pendant hung from her neck, glittering. 

“Vladimir Masters,” the thing said, drawing out the syllables with a flourish. “I’ve heard quite a lot about your work. It’s impressive, actually. Not many people soulbound with demons end up lasting this long.” 

The demon’s eyes narrowed. Vlad took a step back, feeling something he never used to feel but had been feeling quite a lot of, lately—Fear. 

“You’re not Harriet. Who are you?” 

“Oh, she’s here. Getting quite worked up about it, actually. Screaming about our deal. Blah, blah. How do you deal with this, Plas? I always used to blow through vessels too quickly to really hear them scream—This is going to take some getting used to.” 

Vlad felt horrified, despite himself. Despite how the demon’s suspicion was already waning in favor of glee. This should be good news—Harriet Chin had been on his trail, and now she was evidently taken care of. This should be his lucky break. 

And yet. 

She’d been his friend, once upon a time. She’d sent him a card in the hospital, and even if she’d probably forgotten about that, he’d remembered. Sure, she wanted him in jail. Sure, this hadn’t even been his fault. And yet, despite everything, he felt a strange gnawing guilt. Or maybe it was sympathy. He wasn’t sure. The only thing he was sure of was that he couldn’t be happy about this, no matter how much the demon thought he should be. 

“You didn’t answer my question.” 

“Why so unfriendly? Ah… I suppose my note was a little vague. But I’m not here to spill your secrets, don’t worry. Well—Except to dear Harriet, but you can see that she's not exactly in a position to tell anyone else.” 

Her expression twisted a little—something angry, something desperate, something that was not her at all—before she regained control of the face that was not hers and used it to laugh. 

“My name is Penelope Spectra, and I’m here to make a deal.” 

“Forgive me, but it doesn’t seem like your deals are incredibly reliable,” Vlad commented stiffly. The demon shot him a look. 

You know we’re running low on options, it said. Why don’t we hear her out? 

“You’re seriously considering this? This obvious trap?” 

I know her. She’s not lying to us. 

“Ah, I knew you’d remember an old friend, Plasmius. You’re in luck—I’ve got a plan that will benefit both of us. You feel that rift over there…?” 

“Yes…?” 

That twisted grin did not suit Harriet’s face. 

“We’re going to open it.” 

Vlad couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “What? That’s insane. Absolutely not. That—That would destroy everything, wouldn’t it?” 

“Maybe,” Spectra mused, “But this world is destroying you. I’d say you have nothing to lose.” 

“And nothing to gain,” Vlad snapped. 

“Everything to gain. We won’t be left with nothing, you know. What we create will be something entirely new. A place where we won’t be bound by bonds or laws. Where I won’t need a vessel. Where you won’t need to scrape by to survive.” 

“I’ll—I’ll find other ways to survive.” 

“Will you, now? How many more people are you willing to kill just to buy yourself a few more years? Pretty selfish, if you ask me.” 

Vlad didn’t know what to say. 

“I see you need a little more time to think,” Spectra said. “I respect that. But when you’re ready to make up your mind, burn this. I’ll find you.” 

She tossed a business card their way. Vlad was tempted to let it fall, but the demon caught it, folding its claws around it so that it vanished. Spectra smiled. 

“See you, you two. And remember—Time’s running out.” 

With that, she stepped into the shadows and disappeared. 

Vlad stared into the darkness for several more moments, before letting out a huff and stalking back into the forest. 

“What a waste of time. As if we’d ever consider an offer like that! Ridiculous.” 

Was it really so ridiculous? 

Vlad stopped. He didn’t turn, but he knew the thing was behind him—watching. 

“...What are you saying?” 

We’re dying because we can’t sustain keeping a foot in either world. 

But what if we didn’t have to? 

What if we brought the two together? 

Vlad turned now, moving to stare at the demon in horror. It couldn’t be serious—could it? 

“That’s—that’s insane. Are you even thinking of the destruction that would cause? I wouldn’t let the world burn just to save our own souls.” 

The demon drew closer, lifting a hand and placing its claws across Vlad’s shoulder. 

That doesn’t matter, Vladimir. 

Its grip was like ice. 

What matters is that I would. 

“You-” 

Crack. 

The demon let go, whirling around to face the direction of the noise. 

Someone’s here. 

Vlad froze. He could see her now. 

Standing in the brush, staring at the pair with an expression horrified enough to tell Vlad she’d heard everything, was Valerie Gray. 

“You,” she gasped, the terror in her expression blending with a sudden surge of rage. “Danny was never possessed by a demon, it—it was you.”

The demon lunged for her, and there was nothing Vlad could think to say to stop it. He didn’t want this. He didn’t want any of this. But Valerie knew his secret now, and as much as some part of him screamed to let her go, to let it all come out and let his life come crashing down entirely, he couldn’t bring himself to lift a finger. 

“I’m sorry, Valerie,” he said weakly, well aware of how pathetic it sounded. What was sorry worth, after all he’d done? After all he was going to let the demon do now? 

All he could do was stand there and watch. 

But Valerie wasn’t going down easy. No—Valerie was a ghost hunter. She may have made a mistake with Phantom, but there was no mistaking that this demon was a real threat, and this time, she didn’t hesitate. She pulled a handful of blood blossom petals from her pocket, and as the demon drew closer, she shoved it directly into its face. It let out a shriek of agony, one Vlad couldn’t help but mirror, the two of them falling to the ground. Still, the demon was stronger than Phantom. It was strong enough to endure this. It’d only take moments for it to tear itself away, moments for it to get to her and tear her soul to shreds. But Valerie was smart—she hadn’t stuck around. The blossoms were enough to delay it for just a few precious moments, and by the time it had recovered enough to ready another attack, she was gone. 

The demon let out a roar of rage, then dragged itself far enough away from the blossoms to pick Vlad up by the collar and slam him against a tree. 

You see, Vladimir? We’re out of time. It looks to me like we have one option left. You may be too cowardly to try it, but I’m not. 

“No,” Vlad begged, gasping for air. “Don’t. Don’t.” 

The demon looked at him, taking inventory of his face. 

Then it grinned. 

Since when have you ever been able to tell me what to do? 

With a flourish, it produced the business card that it had been given, holding it up for Vlad to see. All Vlad could do was watch. 

It burned.

Chapter Text

...

---

This can’t be how it ends. 

All Harriet had ever wanted was the truth. For there to be some sort of justice to it all. She’d spiraled, but how could she not have? How could she have kept calm, measured, neutral, in the face of all she’d learned? Her college friend was a murderer. Ghosts were real. And, most maddening of all, she had absolutely nobody to tell. 

Who would ever believe her? 

To what end had she followed this breadcrumb trail? To what end had she connected the threads?

Her deal with Spectra had been punctuated with a piercing pain in the temple and almost instant regret. What use was the truth now? She knew what had happened to the murder victims. She knew how they had died. She knew how Vlad had pulled it off, and what the thing that had helped him and driven him to do it looked like. She knew none of it could ever, ever be published in a respectable paper, and she also knew that that didn’t matter anymore, no matter the blow to her career. The stakes were so much higher now. 

Her hands were going to aid in ending the world, and all she could do was watch it through a foggy window. She was sitting in the passenger’s seat of her own body and watching as someone else drove them both towards oblivion. 

Helpless. She could never stand feeling helpless. 

Her disconnected consciousness sat at a table in a space that had taken the form of her college newspaper’s office, a fragment of a time she would never be able to get back. Scattered across every surface around her were polaroid photos and newspaper clippings, each connected by a piece of red thread that led towards a wide window at the front of the room. Through it she watched the world as her body moved on without her, as Spectra stalked out towards Axion with an air of grim finality. She could feel that she was smiling, and wished desperately that punching herself in the jaw in her mindscape would have any effect in the physical world. 

This can’t be how it ends. 

She’d wondered for a while if journalism would end up killing her, but she’d never imagined it to be anything like this. The story had consumed her, and maybe she’d always been chasing a story that mattered enough to be able to do that, but she’d never wanted to go quietly. Out with a bang, at least, out with a story people could tell about it, not like this. Not because someone else had tricked her into it. Out fighting . 

Maybe there was still time for that. The truth was, she’d never stopped fighting, not in her entire life. 

Harriet stood up, pulling at the spools of red thread around her as she stalked towards the window. She wrapped it around her knuckles as she neared the glass, then pulled back her fist. 

---

The fight with Dash. The broken lightbulb. Detention. The ghost dog. Valerie. The day had been enough of a whirlwind that Danny hadn’t questioned it when Phantom had led him out here instead of home. He hadn’t questioned his silence, much as it worried him. He couldn’t figure out what to say either. 

Apparently it was possible to break his bond with Phantom. Valerie could’ve done it, almost did do it without Danny even knowing. It might not have even hurt. That was the part that terrified him most of all, how easy it would have been, after everything they’d been through. Once upon a time, he would have jumped at the chance. He could’ve severed himself from the afterlife entirely and never looked back, gone back to a regular life—or regular enough, if he ignored his parents’ antics. Now? The mere thought of it left an ache in his chest, grief for a loss he’d been quick enough to prevent. He couldn’t imagine a world without Phantom in it, even if it meant keeping a foot in another one himself. Sam and Tucker had always been his best friends, but Phantom was his best friend too, now. They were a quartet now, not a trio, and he’d never choose to let that go. 

Not unless Phantom wanted to go.

Eventually, he couldn’t bear the silence anymore. Much as he struggled to put words to the chaos that had been today, he had to say something. He had to at least know if his friend was okay. 

“I’m really sorry about today.” 

Phantom said nothing, though his ear twitched. He was facing away from Danny, staring off towards the fading sunset.

Danny felt out of place, here with his legs dangling off the edge of the playground’s wooden structure. He hadn’t been on one of these in years. But here was where Phantom had led him, so here he had come. Something about the place seemed to put the spirit at ease, (as much as anything could, after all that,) so he’d gone along with it. It was getting dark, but Phantom hadn’t moved, so Danny hadn’t either. 

“That was messed up. I mean, understatement of the century. But she was wrong about you, you know?” 

i know. 

Those were the first words Phantom had spoken aloud in hours. The sun had dipped beneath the trees some time ago, and now the remaining light from it was fading as well. The sky was shifting from orange to a deep blue. 

“You don’t think she’ll try something like that again, do you? If you’re worried—” 

it’s not that. 

“It’s not…?” Danny wasn’t entirely convinced, though their tether didn’t indicate a lie. “But…” 

i think she understood what i was trying to say. she’s not bad, just… hurt, i think. i’m not scared of her anymore. 

“But something’s still bothering you,” Danny pointed out. “I can tell, dude. If it’s really not that, then what…?” 

it’s… Phantom narrowed his eyes a little, as if attempting to concentrate on something that wasn’t there. things keep coming back to me. 

Danny’s eyes widened a little. “Like memories?” 

Phantom nodded. the past. everything. 

He reached out a hand and ran his shadowy finger along a set of incoherent sharpie marks on the structure’s railing. 

it feels like everything’s starting to come back. 

Danny frowned. This seemed like the sort of thing Phantom would’ve been excited about, under different circumstances. It was what they’d spent so long searching for, after all. Maybe there was a bit of hope emanating from the tether, but it was small, dwarfed by other feelings like fear, melancholy. It shouldn’t have been like this. 

“Isn’t that a good thing?” 

Phantom was quiet for several moments. 

i don’t know. 

He didn’t say anything else after that. Danny waited a while, then—not knowing what else to do—decided to finally check his phone, which had been buzzing relentlessly for the past several minutes. It was, of course, Tucker, Sam, and Jazz. They had a group chat for ghost related things, and considering how he’d been more or less missing for the past several hours, ‘Danny got kidnapped again’ wasn’t the strangest conclusion to come to. 

[ plantgoth ] okay, so we’re checking the school first, right? 

 

[ toofinefoley ] oh yeah, breaking and entering. only for you, danny. don’t you think splitting up is just gonna increase our chances of ALL getting kidnapped? 

 

[ plantgoth ] i mean, i haven’t been kidnapped yet. 

 

[ toofinefoley ] jazz has! and she’s not a medium! 

 

[ Jazz_Fenton ] I didn’t get kidnapped. I walked in. 

 

[ toofinefoley ] you still got teleported to the nightmare dimension 

 

[ plantgoth ] can we stop arguing over this when we don’t know if danny’s even alive right now 

 

[ mediumatlarge] boo 

 

[ Jazz_Fenton ] Danny! 

 

[ toofinefoley ] DANNY 

 

[ plantgoth ] YOU DICK where have you BEEN?? 

 

[ mediumatlarge ] in the park with phantom?? do you really have a contingency plan for every time i don’t reply for a few hours? 

 

[ toofinefoley ] says the guy who’s been kidnapped like 4 times 

 

[ mediumatlarge ] does blacking out in a broom closet count as being kidnapped? 

 

[ toofinefoley ] if someone else put you there, yeah! 

 

[ mediumatlarge ] that’s still only three. i had detention, guys 

 

[ toofinefoley ] ooooooooooh 

 

[ plantgoth ] well i guess we didn’t need the contingency plan

 

[ Jazz_Fenton ] You could have texted! So everything’s fine? 

 

[ mediumatlarge ] well, phantom did almost get exorcized. did you know the ghost hunter from the other day was valerie gray? 

 

[ Jazz_Fenton ] WHAT 

 

[ plantgoth ] WHAT 

 

[ toofinefoley ] WHAT 

 

[ mediumatlarge ] yeah it was kind of fucked up. but phantom convinced her not to so i thiiiink she’s not gonna try to go after him anymore? i dunno it was weird 

 

[ mediumatlarge ] we found the ghost dog btw i think it passed on 

 

[ plantgoth ] WHAT 

 

[ toofinefoley ] okay i’m with jazz on this one, you really couldn’t have texted?! 

 

[ mediumatlarge ] …yeah sorry my bad. it was just a really weird day. i’ve been at the park trying to make sure phantom’s okay 

 

[ Jazz_Fenton ] Is he? 

Danny looked to the side, where Phantom had been just moments before—only to find that he had vanished. Feeling a jolt of panic, Danny leapt to his feet to look around. To his relief, Phantom had just floated down from where they were sitting and was near the treeline now, looking into the woods. 

“Jeez, buddy, warn me when you’re gonna float off like that. You nearly gave me a heart attack.” 

Phantom said nothing. Frowning, Danny climbed down from the structure and walked up to his side. 

“Phantom? You okay?” 

A sudden wave of new emotion came over him—them, their tether, different from the residual jitters and melancholy the two had kept with them since the incidents at school that day. No, this was something new. Phantom was, distinctly and chillingly, afraid. 

He lifted up a shadowy arm and pointed a claw into the darkness. 

do you see that? 

His voice shook. 

It took Danny a moment. He had to squint, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness of the forest—(why was it so dark in there?)—but after a few moments, he realized what Phantom was looking at. 

There was a man standing there, staring right back out at them. Danny knew this man. Not by much, only through a brief glimpse caught among many other faces as he—well, the creature posing as him—was dragged into a ruby pendant. But he knew him. 

Long blond hair, almost white… Tired lines by his eyes… Eyes that would have seemed kind if not for the sheer emptiness he saw in them right now. 

“That’s…” 

The man turned around and began to walk away.

dad, Phantom gasped, and rushed after him. 

“Phantom, wait—” Danny called out, but the ghost was already disappearing into the trees. Danny swore under his breath, and fired off a quick text to the chat. 

[ mediumatlarge ] no. something’s happening i gotta go 

It didn’t matter how stupid this was—He wasn’t letting Phantom run into danger alone. Hoping his friends wouldn’t need the contingency after all, but fearing they likely would, Danny ran after his friend into the darkness. 

---

Fuck. 

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

Valerie Gray should have never trusted someone who wore suits that expensive, especially not somebody so skeevy and clearly demonic as the lying, pathetic piece of work that was Vlad Masters. She never had, not truly, but she’d trusted him enough to come right to the edge of making a horrible mistake, and now he’d sprinted right past her and done a front flip over the bad-decisions cliff she’d barely caught herself from falling off of. The apocalypse. His demon was going to start the honest-to-god apocalypse. And now it knew she knew that. She had to keep running—but where was there to go? 

She crashed through what felt like the fiftieth clump of brambles, creating a new scratch across her legs to mark the number, and (for what must’ve been the same amount of times by now) cursing her decision to wear shorts that day. It felt like she was going in circles. Was she going in circles? Last time she’d been through the forest, it hadn’t felt like it had taken nearly as long to return to town. But the trees still stretched tall above her, blocking out the moonlight with their leaves and leaving her in darkness. As if something was keeping her there. 

This wasn’t working. She stopped before she could scrape herself up any more, then leaned back against a tree and let out a shaky breath. The truth was, though she hated to admit it: she was terrified, and she had absolutely no idea what to do. Maybe a detachment ritual would work, but how the hell was she supposed to do it by herself? She’d barely gotten away. Now she was alone, and completely and entirely out of her depth. 

What would her mom have done? 

“Valerie,” a voice whispered. Soft, comforting, familiar. Valerie’s head snapped up immediately. 

“Who’s there?” 

A woman stood between the trees, facing away from her.

It couldn’t be. It wasn’t. She’d spent so long searching for her spirit, begging the void to call back to her. Why would she be here, now? Why would she still be on Earth at all? 

But it looked so much like her. That voice, it was so much like her. 

Valerie’s voice came out smaller than she meant it to. 

“Mom?” 

The woman said nothing, and disappeared into the darkness beyond. Valerie instinctively took a step, then caught herself. 

No. No way. This was obviously some sort of trap. Her mom was dead— dead dead. If she could have come back, she would have… wouldn’t she? She wouldn’t have left Valerie alone all this time if she’d had a choice, only to come back to her now when she was up against an existential threat. Either someone was tricking her, or she was seeing things, and one way or another she wasn’t going to go chasing some illusion through the woods at night. It’d probably send her tumbling off of a cliff. That was what ghosts did: They played with you, then went in for the kill once you were in too deep to fight back. 

She caught herself. Not all of them. 

But that didn’t mean this was real. She took another step forward, staring down the darkness where her mother had disappeared. It was definitely a trap. She knew this. And yet…

She was already trapped in the forest, pursued by demons. There might not be a way out of it in any case. If she didn’t follow the bait now, it might have her walking in circles until the veil fell apart entirely. Did she really want to let go of a chance like this, even if it was a slim one? Worst case scenario, it would lead her to the culprit, and she could show them exactly what she thought about their messed up plan. 

And maybe, just maybe, it really would be her mother, showing her a way out of this. Every logical part of her knew otherwise, but she could hope, couldn’t she? Even now? It was obviously some sort of trap, but she knew she’d never be able to forgive herself if she found out too late that it wasn’t. 

She took a breath, pulled her knife into the safety of her palm, then headed out into the trees. 

---

“Phantom, slow down!” 

Danny couldn’t even see him anymore. The spirit had zipped on ahead and Danny had no idea where he was going—hardly able to see anything, relying on their tether to know at least vaguely if he was even going in the right direction. Charging on in was probably the worst decision they’d ever made, (though it was up against some heavy competition,) but Phantom hadn’t stopped to think about it. He’d acted purely on instinct, reaching out for the only shred of family he had left and not looking back as he’d leapt. The thought hurt a little bit, actually, but Danny ignored it and continued his sprint through the trees, periodically calling out for his friend with no response. 

Fuck. 

The darkness around him became increasingly absolute. It was as if someone had erased the stars above, leaving him in an inky abyss where he could hardly see his hand in front of his face, let alone a shadowy spirit in the darkness. He couldn’t even see the trees—though several times they had helpfully announced themselves by rising out of the darkness in time for him to slam directly into them. It happened repeatedly enough that he was hardly even surprised when he slammed into something else— until he realized his face had slammed into the side of someone’s head, rather than the bark of a tree. 

Valerie screamed and punched him in the stomach. Danny went down like a lead balloon, though he made a sound like a regular one, deflating very slowly. Valerie stopped her assault once she heard it. 

“Fenton? What the hell?” 

“Hi Valerie,” Danny squeaked, too stunned to question why she was out here or remember that he was meant to be angry with her. 

“Shit—I’m sorry,” she said, quickly moving to help him up. “What are you doing out here? Where’s your—uh, friend?” 

He couldn’t help but feel surprised by the gesture, but let her take his hand anyway. “He saw, uh—he saw someone, and just took off. I’m trying to find him.” 

Valerie’s breath caught. Danny noticed. “What?” he asked. 

“I think we’re both in deep shit. I gotta—hold on, is that…?” 

Danny heard it too. The soft sound of crying. “Oh, no…” 

They turned, and there was Phantom, curled up near a tree. His shadowy shoulders shook from the occasional sob he couldn’t help but let out, even if it was clear he was trying to be quiet about it. Danny ran over to him immediately, and Valerie did too, though she stayed a few extra feet away. 

“Phantom? Are you okay?” Danny asked. Phantom shook his head. 

he’s gone. i can’t—i can’t find him. 

Valerie watched, her brow furrowed, then—hesitantly, slow as if trying not to startle him—she made her way next to Danny and crouched down. 

“Did… Did you see someone important to you, too?” 

Phantom looked up. He seemed surprised to see her, but nodded slowly. Valerie sighed. 

“I saw my mom,” she said quietly. “I don’t… I don’t think it was real. I don’t know if what you saw was real, either. I think something’s tricking us.” 

She glanced out into the darkness beyond the trees, then clenched her fists. 

“It’s… It’s Phantom, right? Look, Phantom… I’m sorry for what I did. I was wrong about you. I know you hate me, but—” 

i don’t hate you. 

Valerie looked up, surprised. 

you hurt me, but i don’t hate you. you just didn’t know me. 

“...Yeah. I didn’t. But there’s a reason I thought what I did, and I think you’re going to want to hear it. It doesn’t make it better, but, well… We’re all in trouble, now.” 

Phantom blinked. what is it? 

“The one who told me you were a demon was Danny's so-called ‘uncle,’ Vlad Masters.” 

Danny’s jaw dropped. “Are you kidding me? Oh, of course he would—”  

“And now he and his demon are going to try to end the world.” 

“Oh, come now. You’re acting as if it was his idea. Let a girl take some credit, will you?” 

Danny and Valerie leapt to their feet, each pulling their own knife into their hands immediately. Phantom rose into the air and circled them urgently, then hissed—just as someone emerged from the darkness in front of them. 

“But you shouldn’t worry, really. This won’t take long.” 

Only Danny recognized her. 

“A medium and a half,” mused the thing that was not Harriet. “That should be enough, shouldn’t it?” 

“You…?” Danny wasn’t sure how to piece together what he was seeing. It wasn’t like he knew her well, but she’d seemed completely mortal when he’d met her last. Now, a sense of sheer wrongness radiated from her like poison. It wasn’t until he spotted the pendant around her neck that he understood. 

“Oh, no. No, you didn’t—”

“Surprise,” sang Penelope Spectra, in a voice that did not belong to her. “Oh, I do love our games, ghost boy. It's too bad you and your know-it-all sister tried to cheat your way into winning. But I wasn't quite down for the count, see. No, I'm just getting started, and I'm going to expand the court so that everyone can play. Now, hold still for a second, alright?” 

She lifted her hand and moved her fingers to snap. But before she could, her other hand shot out and dragged it down, clenching hard enough that even Spectra couldn’t help but wince. “Wh—” 

Valerie looked urgently towards Danny. “We need to move, now. Three on one, we can take her if we—” 

Check your math. 

Too fast, no time to react—Phantom let out a strangled noise as something pinned him down in the dirt behind them by the neck. Inky claws, magenta eyes, a form that flickered like a flame threatening to erupt into a wildfire… followed loosely by Vlad Masters, slinking out of the darkness and looking ashamed of himself. He watched as the little ghost flailed helplessly in his demon’s grasp, then looked away.