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Danny Fenton sat on the school rooftop, having escaped Dash's wrath for once. He scribbled away on his notebook, attempting a math problem he had no idea how to solve. He thought he solved it, checked the answer in the back, and realized it was wrong. Again. He ripped the page out, crumpled it, and tossed it aside to the graveyard of other papers keeping him company this afternoon. He stared at the pile and shook his head. “One day a tree ghost is going to haunt me for this.” He’d skipped third-period biology. Again. He hadn’t been able to follow the lectures at the beginning of the year, and he certainly wasn’t able to keep up now. He just couldn’t get enough sleep. He was haunted by all his responsibilities, nagging his conscious at every moment. “Heh, haunted.” But his heart wasn’t in it. His heart wasn’t in much as of late. Ghosts were becoming more violent. Someone was killed last week in the aftermath of a fight with Skulker. The death was due to a collapsing parking garage that was… mostly empty. Danny had thought it was empty. The news blamed it on ghosts, and Danny tried desperately to think of the word “ghosts” as meaning “all the ghosts except him”. But it was getting more difficult to separate himself from his half-ghost side. He constantly questioned what made him different from the rest. No matter how many times the public saw Danny Phantom fighting Skulker or Ember or Vlad or even the Box Ghost, they never learned to trust him.He ripped a page from the notebook. Again.A bell rang marking the end of a period. Again.Everything seemed to meld together, to happen over and over again. Nothing ever changed. He was exhausted.Danny Fenton’s ghost sense went off, and a chill went over his skin. He looked out past the rooftop of his school but didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Could he ignore it? Pretend it didn’t happen? No. If he did nothing and someone got hurt, he would never forgive himself. But if he went, and someone got hurt anyway, could he forgive himself? Danny set the notebook down, having made no progress, and began to transform. White rings of light appeared around him, and he felt his torso chill. The door to the rooftop access began to open. “Danny?” Surprised and cutting off his transformation, Danny took a step back and somehow slipped on one of the pieces of paper. Air escaped from his lungs. “Danny!” Tucker and Sam, both now very concerned ran over.“Danny, are you ok? What’s going on with you?” Tucker asked as Sam crouched down next to Danny. He sheepishly looked up, rubbing the back of his neck.“Yeah, sorry, was just feeling a little down.” His attempts at puns were getting worse by the day. His friends did not look satisfied as they glanced between each other.“What? Look, I’m fine,” Danny stood and grabbed one of the pieces of graph paper he had discarded, “it’s not like I’m plotting anything.” He put a smile on his face for the sake of his friends. Again.“Danny…” Sam started “we’re worried about you; we don’t-”“Guys, I’m fine. Really, I am. I just… Didn’t get much sleep.” He started shoving all the discarded paper in his worn out backpack while walking backward to the rooftop door. “Look, I’ll see you guys tomorrow. I’ve got some things I need to do.”Danny turned and pulled the door open.“Again?” Tucker called out.Fenton paused, his hand shaking. Maybe he should tell them. Maybe he could just turn invisible, intangible, or even just go ghost. Something, anything to show them. But all he could think about was that man who died in the collapsed parking garage that he had thrown Skulker into. So he didn’t tell them. And he couldn’t bring himself to turn and give them yet another excuse. Instead, he let his shoulders sag as he walked away.Sam crossed her arms, disappointment furrowed her eyebrows.“Yeah, again.”
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Danny Phantom crashed backward into a brick wall, turning intangible a second too late. He felt his skin begin to disappear as the momentum carried him farther into the wall. He hovered there for a moment, hoping whatever ghost he was fighting would let him breathe, if only for a few seconds.Who was he even fighting? He shook his head, confused, more so than he probably should have been, and took a shaky breath. Exiting the wall, he readied a ghost ray, green light and energy folding and weaving over and between his fingers. He felt power build, but he couldn’t find the ghost. Phantom couldn’t even remember who he was fighting.He let the ghost ray dissipate, the energy fizzling out and charging the air around him. He could feel crackles of light. It was almost dizzying. Shaking his head, he flew to a nearby rooftop. Sirens are going off in the distance, too loud and overwhelming his senses. He tries to find his opponent, but can’t see them anywhere. He’s so tired.Maybe he could just… take a nap. He’d feel better after a nap. He had to escape the noise, the light, the energy. Phantom started in the direction of home, but his head hurt, his body ached, and all he wanted to do was sleep. Blinking, flying high above the streets of Amity Park, he hid in an alley and became Danny Fenton. A park bench sat under a tree nearby. If he could just… lay down for a minute, he’d feel better. So he plopped down, with no gracefulness, and fell asleep.Danny Fenton was nudged awake. His eyes fluttered open, and he saw the face and attire of a police officer above him. For a moment, he thought they had finally found him. The face was angry, and surely this officer knew that Fenton and Phantom were one in the same. His name wasn’t a clever one, someone was bound to realize eventually. Danny thought invisible and flying away. But he couldn't bring himself to.“You alright, kid?”Huh. He didn't know. Danny reevaluated the situation.“Do you need help? I could give you a ride.”Danny shook his head and sat up. “No, I'm fine, I just… really like this bench.” ok that was stupid. And now his head was starting to spin again. The officer scanned his face, and Danny forced a fake smile. The cop didn't look very convinced.“Do you have somewhere to go? You can't stay here.” Danny wasn't sure why he was asking that. Of course, he had somewhere to go.“Yeah, thanks for the help, officer.” Danny stood, shoving his hands deep in his pockets, and began the walk home.He finally accepted that something was wrong when he couldn't quite figure out where he was or how to get home. He spent so much time in this city, flying above it, he thought he knew every street, alley, and neighborhood, but he just could not seem to orient himself. The sun was starting to set and the sky beginning to darken. A cold breeze came through, but it never quite chilled him anymore.Danny pulled out his phone. The first person he'd thought about calling was Sam; his thumb hovered over the al button. He'd grown up in the couple years after the accident, after having distanced himself from his friends. He realized he cared about her, but he couldn't bring himself to talk to her about it. At one point, he wrote a letter for her, but he never gave it to her. I’m not going to tell her until I can tell her in person. So he called Tucker instead, even if he wanted to hear Sam's voice and apologize that he distanced himself from them.The phone rang once. Danny half expected Tucker to ignore the call, but it only rang once before he picked up.“So, the friend decides to call, huh?” Danny could imagine Tucker inspecting his fingernails as he spoke while trying to hide a half smile. He… missed his friend.“Yeah, I uh… I could use some help.”“Oh? Need me to make up a program that can do those graphing problems for you?”“No, that's not-wait can you do that?”“Your lack of faith in me hurts, Danny, it hurts.” Danny smiled at that one. Of course, his friend would do something like that for him, even after having essentially abandoned his friends.His head throbbed and dizziness hit him. Danny sat down on the curb.“Listen, I’m um. I’m not exactly sure how to get home.”“Did you go out of town?”“No, no I’m in Amity Park, I just,” Danny blinked, “I’m having a hard time concentrating, and I can’t seem to get my bearings. I don’t know where I am.” There was a pause, and for a second Danny thought Tucker had hung up.“Ok, I located you on my PDA using your phone signal…” Hesitation. “Danny, you’re only half a mile from your house. By the park. Are you hurt? I can call an ambulance for you.” Tucker suddenly sounded very serious.“No!” Danny’s hands shook as he calmed his voice. “Sorry. No ambulances.”“Danny, I know hospitals are terrifying, trust me, I wouldn’t set foot in one even if I’d lost both my feet, but if you need help, then they can get you the-““Can you come get me? At least like, guide me home or something? I can’t think very well right now.”“Danny-““No ambulances”Tucker sighed.“I’m on my way. Stay where you are.”~~~Danny Fenton sat with his head between his knees and his hands behind his head on the curb of an empty street. He’d almost fallen asleep when he heard footsteps running. He looked up, Tucker was coming his way, his floppy hat worn backward as always. Danny gave a half smile and a small wave. Tucker only looked more and more concerned as he approached. Eventually out of breath.“Danny, are you sure you are ok?”“Yeah, I’m fine,” he tried to stand but stumbled and caught himself on Tucker’s shoulder.“You’re parents are going to flip.”“I’ll be fine, just point in the right direction, please?”So Tucker guided him through the streets looking increasingly concerned while Danny pretended not to notice. For once, Tucker didn’t have a lot to say. Danny didn’t quite understand why. The walk probably would have gone faster if the Halfa hadn’t been dragging his feet so much. As they got closer to the house, Danny was able to reorient himself and began to speak up.“Thanks, Tucker. I really appreciate this. I’ll see you at school?”“Like you ever go anymore. No way am I just leaving. I’m helping you sneak into your room if it’s the last thing I do. But I really hope it isn’t the last thing I do, so let’s be quick.” Danny sagged his shoulders, shrinking into himself even further. This would be a lot quicker and easier if he could just go invisible and fly up to his room, or intangible and just walk through doors as necessary. But maybe this would be better. Maybe getting help from Tucker wasn’t so bad.“I’ll go in and talk to your parents, tell them you’re already home and asked if I could come over and work on an assignment we have. Then you can sneak past.” Tucker paused. “Can you handle that.”“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”“You’re saying that a lot but I don’t think you’ve seen yourself lately, Danny. Here, hide around the corner, I’ll leave the door cracked open and you can slip in.”Danny nodded. Tucker looked at him as if he thought Danny might bolt. He hated that look. What had he done to his friends?It wasn’t until Danny heard a conversation that he made his way into his living room. “Well, I have been working on my own PDA, with all the new bells and whistles, and was wondering if it was possible to incorporate a ghost tracker, or maybe the ghost gabber, remember that one?” Danny smiled. He should give Tuck more credit. It was easy after that. Once on the stairs, he went invisible and made his way into his room. All he could think about was his bed and sweet, sweet sleep. But then he caught sight of himself in the small mirror he had in his room, and he did a double take. Things started to make sense. How had he not realized how bad he was?His clothes were torn, dirtied, and had blood splatters on him. His blood. His arms were bruised, his eye was swelling, and when Danny felt the back of his head, he cringed. More dried blood. His hands were shaking. How had it come to this? A shower. A shower would make him feel better and a change of clean clothes would hide the damage.Yeah, everything was going to be fine.~~~ No one was in his room when Danny Fenton returned to it, and he collapsed on to his bed. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he heard his bedroom door creak open. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been in the shower or what time it was, he just knew it was dark outside. So he pretended to sleep. Again. Just like he always pretended to get out of being honest or upfront with his family.The edge of the bed dipped down as someone sat down. Danny was facing the wall. He could tell it was Jazz. Could smell the vanilla perfume she used nowadays.“Danny. Please tell me what’s going on with you.” Oh god, what do I say?“Tucker told me about what happened today. Well, what he knows, anyway.”Just keep pretending. Nuzzle into the pillow deeper and yawn in your sleep. Do people yawn in their sleep? Is that only a think awake people do?Jazz sighed. “Danny, I need you to talk to me. I know something is going on. I’ve been intercepting letters from the school so mom and dad don’t see them. I probably shouldn’t do that, but…” She ran her hand gently over his head. It was comforting. Made him feel like when he was young and had a nightmare. But he forgot about the large lump on the back of his head. Jazz paused, then he felt both her hands on the back of his head, inspecting, prodding.“Daniel Fenton, who did this to you?” Danny pulled away, giving up the rouse and backing him into the corner on his bed. He couldn’t look at her.“Was it Dash? I know he’s been an absolute bully, I’ll report him to the authorities, just tell me it was him.” Her voice was shaking. As much as he hated Dash, he couldn’t let her think that of him. So he responded. He reacted to her, and he realized he was willing to open up, at least a little.“It wasn’t Dash." He clutched his knees to his chest.“Was it…” Jazz looked down at her own lap before hesitatingly meeting his eyes. “Are you in trouble? Are you spending time with some bad people?”He cringed. “God no, Jazz. I haven’t joined a gang and I’m not on drugs. I swear.”“Then what, Danny?” She was exasperated.“I… honestly don’t know who did this to me. I can’t remember.”“You definitely have a concussion. A bad one. Were you dizzy? Disoriented?”“... Very.”There was a long pause between them. It was uncomfortable. Neither of them really knew what to say or do, and couldn’t look at each other.“I think you should go to the hospital.”“No.”“Why not, Danny? You need help.”“I’m not going to the hospital. That’s final.” Surprised by his determination regarding the topic, Jazz let it go. But she made no move to leave. When was the last time he had spoken with Jazz for this long? He couldn’t remember. This had to stop. Halfa or not, he couldn’t keep going like this. Maybe… Maybe he could tell her a portion of the truth.“I… I’ve been… I’ve been trying hunting ghosts.”“You… what?”“I didn’t want mom and dad to know. They’d obsess over it, and that’s not what I wanted. I just saw people getting hurt, and I wanted to help.”“So you’re telling me a ghost did this to you?”“Yeah.” This was risky. This was very, very risky. He stood and went to his backpack, pulling out the Fenton Thermos. “See? I even have it at the ready.” She gave him a quick once over, eyebrows furrowed. She stood up, and she hugged him. Hard at first, but he cringed, feeling bruises all over his back, so she lessened her grip but did not let go.“Danny, I am so happy you are safe, but you cannot keep doing this. You are a teenager. A highschooler. You need to focus on your life, on your grades, on your friends, and on staying safe. You shouldn’t have to worry about anything else.” She pulled away, holding his shoulders as she looked at him. “As wacky as our parents are, after these past couple years, they’ve been proven right. I’ve seen ghosts, and I’ve even seen some of their inventions work. Many of them are absolutely ridiculous, but some of them work. You gotta let our parents and other professionals deal with these things. I am so happy that you want to help people, but you have to help yourself first, okay?”Danny didn’t respond. He was taller than Jazz now. He focused on staring above and past her head.“Okay, Danny?” She didn’t understand. She couldn’t understand. But at least she cared. It was comforting to know that she was worried, even if he wished she didn’t have to. So he nodded. A way to pacify. A lie. Again. But at least everything he said to her hadn’t been a lie. Only halfa it. He almost laughed at his own joke.“I’ll be safe, Jazz, I promise.”~~~ “I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always, as long as I’m living my baby you’ll be.”
Danny Fenton dreamt of that song. He thought it was from a book, but he couldn’t remember. But his mom used to read the book to him, and when he was little, he loved it. He could swear he heard her sing it that night, but he didn’t dare ask the next morning.
He also dreamt of his dad. As crazy as Jack Fenton could be, he had very fond memories of making up inventions with his dad. Danny would come up with the idea for some new ghost device, his dad would theorize about how it would work, and Danny would draw up very terrible blueprints in crayon. Danny had almost forgotten those memories.~~~ Danny Phantom flew across the sky. It had been several days, and things had been calmer at the house. Jazz had insisted that Danny stay home for several days and had spoken with Lancer herself. She’d graduated last year but was still highly respected by the faculty. Danny’s parents did not mention the bruises, and his mom would bring him hot tea to his room. His dad bought some ghost reality tv shows, and they would sit downstairs and binge watch them all. Danny didn’t particularly like those shows, but he knew it was one of the few ways his dad was capable of reaching out. So they relaxed and enjoyed themselves.The ghost world had been calm for once. The timing was suspicious, but Danny decided to enjoy it. He’d fought Desiree briefly, but he just kept thinking of ways to out-wish her, and it wasn’t a difficult battle. He still couldn’t remember who he’d been fighting a few days before, and it was bothering him.But right now, flying over Amity Park, he wasn’t off to fight ghosts. He was just enjoying the nice weather. Well, that and his mom had asked him to go pick up a few groceries for dinner that night. But after the whirlwind of a week he had, he was just glad to be able to enjoy being half ghost, for once. He spun and circled and flew through the trees, hair flying back. People stared. It was the middle of the day after all, and he was being bold. But he was feeling good. Maybe he could tell Jazz about all of this. Maybe she’d understand, maybe Tucker and Sam and his parents would understand-Something hard hit his side. Careless. He’d been too careless. It all seemed to happen in slow motion. Hands outstretched to release a ghost ray a second too late. Again. Cords wrapped around his waist and he was a second too late, again. He didn’t turn intangible in time and electricity, ectoplasmic in nature, ran up and down his body. He screamed, beginning to fall. He was weak. Still too weak, not healed. He was panicking. This was too high of a fall, he wouldn’t make it; he already suspected his ribs were bruised, if not cracked, but this would break him. He told his body to fly, but he continued to fall. Another impact, but this time around his arms, latching them to his sides, and this time he didn’t fall. This time he was dangling. He spun, slowly. Swung back and forth, the momentum still carrying him. He groaned and brought his head up to see his attacker. Skulker? No.“Hey, Val.”He... wasn’t sure how else to respond.