Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Danny, Sam and Tucker were hanging out like any other weekend. It was a day full of snacks, jokes and trying to beat a new level in Doomed. The difference this time was a question that Tucker brought up. “So we all know the Dragon Prince guy that Danny locked up not too long ago right?”

“Yeah, What about him?” Danny asked as he paused the game so as not to have his character die mid-fight.

“Well, he got me thinking. If there are ghosts that can transform into dragons, are there just dragon ghosts that don’t transform somewhere in the Ghost Zone?” Tuck asked, having paused the game on his screen, that battle could wait.

“I would think so. Isn’t the Ghost Zone supposed to be infinite? They would have to be somewhere right? We just haven’t been out far enough to find them.” Sam jumped into the conversation. “I mean if all the dragons died out there has to be ghosts of at least some of them in there.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Danny said, looking between Tuck and Sam. Each of them nodded and all of them said together, “Dragon hunting.”

“I do want to be clear though, not hunting in the sense that we want to go hurt them but just want to see if we can find any, right. Because if you two are planning to fight dragons that aren’t hurting us I will fight you.” Sam said with a very stern look to both the boys.

“I thought that was implied. If I don’t have to fight something I won’t. I just want to see some dragons that aren’t trying to destroy something at first sight.” Danny said, nodding his, being as serious as he could while getting up to do some dragon hunting. What are their lives that they could actually do something like this.

“I can’t try to eat a dragon if all of them are already ghosts, Sam. But I’m just saying if I lived in a time that I could try Dragon Burgers I would.” Tucker said, purposely riling Sam up.

“You try to eat a dragon and I grow a fly trap big enough to eat you.” Sam threatened back. Tucker put up his hands in surrender.

“Come on, if we are lucky my parents are still out and it will be a piece of cake to sneak in and get in the Speeder.” Danny said already halfway to the door. The others were quick to follow him. They made their way to FentonWorks in record time and down to the lab. Danny’s parents were indeed still out and they turned on the Speeder and opened the portal doors.

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After about an hour of zooming around they made it to the castle where Aragon was locked up in the dungeon. This was a good sign for them. Hopefully with this being the last place they saw a form of dragon; they were headed in the right direction. Tucker kept track of things they were passing to in theory and had a reliable map back out when they were done with their adventure of the day. Sam was taking note of any new plants or animal ghosts that they passed. Danny was flying not far ahead of the Speeder hoping to spot a dragon and head off any fire it might breath their way.

It didn’t take long before they spotted large ghosts ahead of them. For some of the ghosts, large was an understatement, they were huge! If these ghosts ever made it to Amity Park, they would be bigger than most of the buildings. But more importantly they were all dragons! There were so many different shapes and sizes to them. One of the biggest ones had huge wings with smaller dragons riding on its back and spikes on its tail. One of the smaller ones was fully smooth and almost snake-like but the legs gave it away.

Danny didn’t want to fly too close and bother them, partly because he didn’t want to fight all of them if they got upset with him. Another part because they looked to just be playing or enjoying each other's company and he didn’t want to disturb that.

“Well, I guess we got our answer. This is pretty cool too. Do you see the one that looks like those dancing dragons from parades and stuff?” Danny said phasing into the Speeder with his friends.

“Yeah, but I think the one that’s the size of the Nasty Burger that’s play fighting with the baby dragons is the coolest.” Tucker said, pulling out his PDA to note down all the different dragons here.

“They all seem like a herd. Is there a word for a group of dragons? Either way, they seem to have a close community here and I don’t think we should disturb them.” Sam said but was also watching the largest dragon and admiring how it seemed to make turns sharply but careful not to let the smaller ones fall off.

“Yeah, if we bother them and they get mad, I don’t think we can win against a pack all at once. I say we watch for a bit, maybe snap some pictures then head back.” Danny said, sitting back and watching as the flight of dragons made its merry way around.

The trio did just that. They watched the dragons interact for a while and commented on small things happening, like play fights or piggy back rides that were happening. At one point some of the smaller dragons all laid down into a cute cuddle pile. They didn’t stick around much longer after that and slowly made their way back to the portal.

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It was that time of year again, spring cleaning and with time Danny was in charge of going through some boxes that have been collecting dust up in the ops center. It must have been a while since anyone had opened or even thought about these boxes because the layer of dust could be blown off and have a comic amount of dust floating in the air. The first box was old clothes that Danny had grown out of and hadn't been donated at some point. The second was odd pieces of dishes or ceramics. The last box was toys and other odds and ends from when Jazz and Danny were younger.

Danny was almost positive that he could spot the edge of Jazz’s old Simple Bake Oven. He had even spotted one toy that he forgot what it was called as he only ever called it ‘ghost’ because he thought it was haunted and evil. It was a furry little robot that would babble. This box almost felt like a time capsule. Danny closed up the other boxes but brought the last one downstairs with him. With his foot he knocked on Jazz’s door before pushing his way in.

“I found your Simple Bake Oven. Do you want to pull it out and see what happens if we put an ectoweenie through it?” Danny said as he plopped down onto Jazz’s bed.

Jazz just spun around and raised an eyebrow when he flopped over. “Where did you find it?”

“Cleaning up in the Ops Center. Mom said I should check the boxes up there that were covered in dust. This one has some of our stuff and found it at the bottom.” Danny said not bothering to sit up. “But is that a yes or no on ectoweenies?”

“I haven’t thought about that oven in years. Also, no on the weenies. I don’t think it would do anything. It barely did anything with the stuff designed to actually go in it.” Jazz said as she took a turn looking through the box. “You know some of this stuff is considered collector's items now. That feels weird.”

“Super weird. We were just playing with them a few years ago and now some weird guy in his parents' basement collects it from the “Good Old Days”. Do you think if we hold on to them for a few more years we can claim they are vintage and get a bunch of money for them?” Danny asked, rolling over and poking Jazz.

“Probably, I know Mom did something similar when she was in college. I don’t think it was as profitable as you are thinking though.” Jazz said, slapping Danny’s hand away to stop him from poking her.

“Maybe we just have to wait longer then, when everyone thinks these things are super rare, we will have our own little treasure chest of stuff.”

“Either way I think I will keep this little cutie out on my desk for a bit. I kind of miss seeing him out and about.” Jazz said holding up ‘Ghost’. Danny groaned at that.

“Jazz, that thing made me believe as a kid that Mom and Dad were right about ghosts being real and evil. That thing haunts me and that is saying something.” He complained loudly and rolled around before finally getting up.

“Do you want me to take the box now or do you want to keep looking through it?” Danny asked, picking up the box again and slightly shaking it.

“You can take it, but if you think I might like something, put it to the side.” Jazz said, setting Ghost on her desk and Danny could swear its eyes followed him. Danny shrugged and left Jazz’s room with the box in hand.

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Mr. Lancer has been a teacher for a long time now. He would like to believe that he has seen almost everything that a teacher could see when at work. Everything from angsty teens with too much on their minds to teens with nothing going on upstairs but somehow always passing. Mr. Lancer was a strong believer that everyone has potential. It doesn’t matter if they have the smallest spark or shine brighter than the sun. It was his job to help them realize their talents and nurture it as much as they could in the short amount of time that they have together.

This brings him to one student in particular, Daniel Fenton. Daniel had been a straight A student with many kind notes from past teachers. But this year something had happened to the boy. His grades had been dropping; his attendance was spotty at best and sleeping or not paying any attention in class. Mr. Lancer would be putting it lightly to say he was concerned. Daniel had been on track to graduate with honors to barely being able to scrape by.

Looking over past assignments, he could tell that Daniel knew what he was talking about, but he seemed distracted or left the assignment half finished. Now Mr. Lancer wouldn’t complain too much. It was always better to turn in something than to turn in nothing at all. But all of the work seems rushed, and half finished, anyone could tell Daniel put in as much effort as his situation would allow. If only he could figure out what the situation was, or if Daniel would just ask for extensions.

Mr. Lancer was also not one to jump to conclusions but seeing as the teen had gone from model student to borderline delinquent, there were only so many options for what the cause could be. At first, he had assumed maybe burnout, but Daniel began to appear in class with bruises and sleeping at his desk. This led Lancer to think of possible gang violence. It wasn’t common but he had seen past students fall into the wrong crowd before. Unfortunately, Daniel was falling into some stereotypical boxes, he was a social outcast with few friends and was bullied. Those things have pushed other kids into horrible situations.

Lancer had done his best to keep Mr. Baxter was on his best behavior when in the classroom but it didn’t always seem to help. Especially when all of the teachers were not on the same page. Other teachers played favorites and with Mr. Baxter being a star player on the football team and leading to many a victory for the school, he could do no wrong in some of their eyes. Mr. Lancer was aware that that was unfair, but it was difficult to address.

Daniel had so much potential, and it was a shame to see some of his coworkers brushing him to the side because he needed a little extra help. Lancer did his best to be sneaky about helping. He wouldn’t take extra marks off of late assignments, he would excuse some (not all) of the absences and be a little more forward on announcing school resources for students that need accommodations and how to attain them. Lancer would do his best to help Daniel quietly until his student felt he could talk to him or another trusted adult in his life.

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Danny stood in the bathroom facing the mirror. He had been looking at his reflection for so long he wasn’t sure that the person looking back at him was himself anymore. It hadn’t been long after the accident and Danny couldn’t explain it but he felt different. He couldn’t see any major changes with his appearance. Unlike right after the accident when he had changed. His dark hair and blue eyes changed to white and glowing green. Right now, those frosty blues were staring back at him. But every so often flecks of that haunting green would appear.

Would they be like that forever now? Solid blue but the green seeping in every so often, just to remind him that he wasn’t the same anymore. Would his parents notice and try to run tests on him? Would his sister notice and ask far too many questions to be comfortable? His friends will know right away. They had been there. They had seen him change. They heard him scream and couldn’t do anything to help.

Danny eventually moved away from the mirror and made his way back to his room. As soon as he was inside, he locked his door and flopped down on his bed, face up to the ceiling with his glow in the dark stars. He smiled a little, his eyes glowed like his stars. They weren’t very bright anymore, having been on the ceiling for so long, some have fallen off or faded over time. Danny liked to think that his new glowing eyes were like his little stars.

His stars had to be changed out every so often to stay bright and make the constellations for him. Just because his eyes changed with what happened doesn’t mean that he had to change overall. He was still Danny, and he could still hang out with his friends, play games, go to school, be a teen. He didn’t have to be an evil ghost like his parents may think. He could stay his own constellation of ceiling stars, changed but still himself, still bright.

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Wes is not crazy. He is not a conspiracy theorist. Wes has done all the research, has gone out and found solid proof for all his accusations. But still, no one believes him on anything. He has been screaming from the rooftops that Fenton is Phantom. He has pictures and videos to prove it. He has shown his board to his brother and his parents before. All that accomplished was his brother mocking him and his parents giving him The Look as they say ‘That’s nice, honey. But have you thought about focusing on your schoolwork?’ Sometimes Wes feels like he has the curse of Cassandra.

Even before all the ghosts and the impossibility of Fenton, Wes had proof of what everyone knows as cryptids. His family is what some may call well-traveled for Americans. They have done plenty of trips around and every time it was Wes’ turn to pick a location it would be hotspots for the unusual. When he was younger, he was fascinated by the stories of Mothman and Bigfoot. He swore that he would be the one to find proof that they were real and show everyone. He would be rich and famous for his discoveries. He could make live TV appearances and talk about these odd creatures.

During one of his family trips, he did indeed find one of these mythical creatures and he was over the moon with excitement. He had prepared for this day. It was one of the reasons he always carries a camera on him. This was his first photo of Bigfoot. When he showed his brother the picture, Kyle just laughed at him and asked him how he bribed someone to wear a costume to get the photo. Wes was not amused. That was also the first time he got in serious trouble for fighting with his brother. Needless to say, punching your brother over proof of Bigfoot was not his best idea.

The next time he had proof was Mothman. He had not planned on actually hunting the Mothman down for a photo, it was just random luck for once. The difference was this time Kyle had been walking with him when he saw and got the picture. He had shouted at Kyle to look up at where his camera was pointed. Still, as soon as Kyle looked up the Mothman was just gone. How did the creature disappear like that? How rude of him to disappear just as his brother looked too. Kyle once again did not believe Wes, saying that he had to stop being a conspiracy theorist and focus on enjoying their vacation.

These sightings and photos happened over and over again for years, it was only after no one believed him about Fenton did Wes start to question if he was cursed. Like all his interests he dove headfirst into research. He scoured the internet for anyone who was experiencing something similar to him. He was finding nothing just looping back into forums about Deja Vu or mythology of curses, nothing tangible. Even the internet didn’t believe him.

Wes swears there is some higher power watching him. That higher power is also purposely driving him insane by making sure no one will believe him. One day if or when Wes meets that being they will be having words or a fist fight. He hasn’t decided yet.

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Amity Park was an unusual place to live. No one would argue that ghost attacks or visits from dead loved ones was normal. Many of the older crowd remembered what it would be like to mourn and never expect to see them again. Once ghosts became the new normal things had changed. It had transformed the way many of them viewed life after death. What really was the holdup was the Drs. Fenton screamed their ideals that all ghosts were evil and monsters that needed to be contained, studied and wiped out. That was another confusing thing, how does one kill the dead?

Overall, the older generation did not see the ghosts as fully evil. Sure, property damage sucked, and the fights were an inconvenience but times change. Property could have been destroyed through natural disaster or hooligans. What did it matter that it was ghosts this time? Plus, if all ghosts were evil does that mean that the loved ones that visited were also evil? If they were, why did they seem exactly the same as when they were alive but with powers now?

The younger generation were excited at first. Life was just like a comic book or cartoon. The town had its very own superhero and villains to fight. They slowly became desensitized to all the glory when they were trapped in wreckage or after the third time school was called off for repairs meaning more make-up day and less summer vacation. They still loved their town hero though. It would be hard to lose the hero worship.

The whole town had their perspective changed when ghosts came. Visitors and tourists would get quite the shock the longer they stay. They, too, would leave with a different understanding of what it would mean when they die.

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It had not been long after the Dan incident when Danny visited Sam with a very serious look on his face. Sam was concerned for her friend. It was not often that the bubbly Danny got that look in his eyes and a set and determined look on his face. “What has you so serious today, Danny?” She asked, leading him inside and to her room so they could talk. Danny had stayed quiet fiddling with something in his hands.

“You remember Dan.” Danny didn’t ask, just stated seriously.

“Yeah, I was there with you. Why?” Sam was now very concerned for her friend. She knew how much that version of the future scared Danny.

“I don’t ever want to become him.” He said, his face still very serious. The determined look in his eye only grew.

“You won’t. You already proved that Danny. You said this started with the C.A.T. and you already turned the answers back in.” She reassured him.

“That’s not good enough. What if something else comes up and all of it happens again. We need a plan and I think I have it.” Danny said, his voice strong.

“I have a feeling I won’t like this. But if it helps you Danny, I am here for you. Same with Tucker.” She said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Danny nodded and took a deep breath. He opened his hands and motioned for Sam to take the seeds there. Sam was confused as to what a few seeds could do to help reassure Danny but she took them anyway. “What are they?”

“Blood Blossom seeds. The last of their kind. I want you to grow them and use them if I ever start to become Dan.”

“Danny!” Sam’s eyes went wide and she was right she did not like this plan. “You want me to grow something that would actively hurt you! I can’t do that!”

“Sam, I am serious about this. We need something to stop me if I go evil. Hopefully we never have to but this is necessary.” He said, doing his best to reassure Sam now.

“Danny, I don’t understand why you would want this. I will keep the seeds and if it really helps you, I will keep them alive but I will not use them.” She did her best to stress that she could not be the one to hurt him like that. Danny just nodded, accepting that she would at least keep the seeds.