Danny coughed. He knew that there were stronger ghosts in the Ghost Zone but most won't bother coming to this side of the veil because they couldn't care less. But sometimes...sometimes they came around just to mess with him. Times like these, Danny had to go all out. Times like these, he can forget about being human because humans had no chance to survive. It was the only way he could push them back to the Ghost Zone.
He never actually win these battles.
Only survive.
Danny shivered, trying to forget the feeling of that thing's hands inside him, touching his organs and playing with them like he's some toy. He coughed out more globs of blood. He's freezing even as the coolness of the void of space healed him. No...his human needed to come out.
There's a limit to how long he should stay ghost. If he stayed ghost for too long, he might lose his humanity completely. Just as if he stayed human for too long, his health will suffer and deteriorate. Danny's human side was fragile but precious. He wasn't ready to go all the way.
He's not Vlad.
Vlad was just a human with ghost powers. A human whose body mutated to adapt to the ecto-contamination that he suffered. He's just a mutant.
Danny...Danny died. Danny Fenton died in the portal. The Ghost Zone used his death to rip a permanent hole between there and here. Payment. A sacrifice. But because of the nature of his death, he also came back as a ghost. In the end, Life didn't want him but Death couldn't accept him. In the end, they compromised and created Danny Phantom.
He's stuck.
Danny sobbed, hating the conflicting emotion that always wrecked him whenever he felt death choking him and chaining but couldn't take him. Danny looked at the world below, so high up he could just drop down somewhere and be lost in another country. But...somewhere down there...there was a sanctuary waiting for him.
"And should you need a place to rest..."
Danny's dead. But he's a corpse without a grave. A dead without a funeral. A ghost without a haunt.
His parents theorized that Amity Park had become his lair, that was why all the ghost came through and attack them. They were wrong. Amity Park was a lair without owner. Why else would Vlad settled there as Mayor? Why else would the ghosts kept coming and bother him?
Because he had the greatest claim on Amity Park but Danny didn't want it. He just wanted to survive and then move somewhere. He just wanted to graduate and make a life outside the town that killed him. But his claim was greater yet he did not want it but still he stayed. Ghosts do not understand this. They wanted to chase him away so that they could settle there and claim it. Vlad made use of his reluctance to claim it to settle there just so he could try and steal his mother or kill his father. Better if he could do both.
"And should you need a place to rest..."
Elsa's voice beckoned him. He could have gone to Tucker but his grandmother's there and Danny knew that having a strong ghost around her would hasten her death. That was why he told Tucker to put many ghost deterrents around his home. It didn't matter that Danny can't come visit. His grandmother came first. As for Sam...he couldn't do it. He couldn't be in the same room with her alone for long.
He didn't hate her but his dead side couldn't stand her.
His own home had not been home since the day he died.
"And should you need a place to rest..."
Danny landed outside her veranda. It was very, very late and she was deeply asleep. He can hear her calm breathing and he didn't have it in him to wake her up. Still, he did not move.
Elsa had invited him. The Rule of Invitation had been invoked by her. Unlike with Sam, there was no violent rejection from his core. He slipped through her glass door and mumbled a quiet apology in Ghost Speak as his dead black blood dribbled all over her clean floor. He floated to the same beanbag that he once occupied, pulling the same blanket she had once covered him with over himself, and finally rested.
Sleeping with internal injuries would usually be a bad idea...but that only applied to the living.
Danny's dead.
Danny Fenton died in the portal...killed twice by a girl he once loved...
He gasped awake to see Elsa looking over him with worry. There was a man beside her. But before he could panic, he heard her asking, "Danny...Danny, what do you need? I don't know how to help you. This is Matthias. He is the head security. He has some experience with battle trauma but...Danny, he never had to fix a ghost. You need to teach us...please, you're bleeding,"
Danny croaked, "Ecto-,"
He coughed out more globs of blood.
Elsa looked at Matthias, "Do you have any ectoplasm on you?"
Matthias shook his head before saying, "There were some weird blob ghosts from last week. We still have it," He patted the thermos, "How should we do this?"
Elsa frowned, "Let them out. I shall freeze them,"
Matthias nodded, "Yes, Miss Elsa,"
Danny watched, confused and in awe at how easily this adult listened to her, how he released a swarm of blob ghosts that Elsa quickly freeze with her power. The man gathered the little frozen ghosts and offered him the thing. Danny stared at him. Experience had taught him to distrust adults. It wasn't easy to overcome that instinct.
Elsa took the frozen ghosts from Matthias, "Go gather the rest," She then looked at Danny, before picking up and pushing one against his lips, "Please...Danny...eat,"
Danny accepted the frozen ghost in her hand, sucking the little thing in before crushing down on it. He liked the way her frost tasted. Like icy sugar on his tongue. He then pulled her hands to him and started to eat right out of them. He ignored the man's concern, only focused on finishing what she had offered. Matthias handed more in a bowl, settling them beside Elsa's kneeling legs. Danny groaned as pure ectoplasm started to worked through him, fixing whatever that douche ghost from last night had done to his insides.
Almost like he had been starved, he scarfed on more of the ghosts in the bowl. Sweet. So sweet and tasty, just like cereals. He gulped, "I could use cold milk with this,"
Elsa hummed, "So they tasted like cereals to you,"
Danny leaned his head on the beanbag, "Man. Elsa, I just love your frost," He sighed, "I needed that..." He looked around, noticing the darkness outside, "Oh, shoot. Did I wake you up? Sorry,"
Elsa pushed his head back down, "No. You needed help," She sighed, "You could just wake me up, Danny. I do not look forward to waking up to see you...well...worse,"
Danny didn't know what kind of sight he was making but it must had been horrible, "Sorry,"
Elsa shook head and looked at Matthias, "Thank you, Matthias. You can leave now,"
Matthias looked at Danny in concern. Danny thought that the man would tell Elsa to move him. Instead, the man nodded, "If you need more of those tiny ghosts, just tell me. We have another thermos full of them,"
With that, he left.
Danny looked at Elsa, "He seemed chill,"
Elsa nodded, "Matthias came from the Northuldra tribe. The people there believed in spirits and that one must respect them as they are guides and teachers to the way of life,"
Danny blinked, "Nice..."
Elsa shook her head as he groaned, "I think you should change into something more comfortable. You're bleeding all over," After a moment, she asked, "Is there anything else you need?"
Danny shook his head, "I'll be fine with enough sleep,"
Elsa glared at him, staring him down like a dragon. Danny stood his ground. He meant it. He'll be fine after a good rest. Once she realized that he's not underplaying his injuries, she backed away with a sigh, pulling out a basket, "Here. This is a spare of Matthias's clothes. There is also a set of toiletries and a towel," She stood up, "I will be cleaning the blood on the floor so take your time in the bathroom,"
She stepped out of her own room and Danny looked at the basket full of things. After a moment, he stood up. With this sort of injuries, it's safer to stay a ghost. Even though his human side felt too cold, Danny needed to persevere so that his body could properly heal before class. He slipped into her bathroom and looked at all the things she used on herself.
He had used his friends' bathroom before. He had bathed in Sam's bathroom too. But he, even before he realized the reason why, could not bring himself to smell like her. There was always that mental block. But the moment he lathered Elsa's body wash on himself,Danny can't help but indulge. Black blood swirled into the drain below along with suds. He washed himself thoroughly, not wanting Elsa to deal with his mess anymore than she already had to. He also enjoyed that Elsa did not crank up the water heater too much.
Tucker liked it hot.
Sam liked it scalding.
Something about women running colder than men.
Once he was done, he dried himself up by chancing intangibility. It felt like straining his muscle so it was good that he did not have to hold the state for long. After that, he looked at his hair, shaking out snow from the frozen water in them. His ghost hair was weird like that when wet. He was shocked the first time he did it, thinking that he had chronic dandruff of all things as a ghost.
He put on the clothes provided; a cotton pajama pant and a black wife beater. Good thing his suit disappeared the moment he peeled them off of his body. He shrugged as he slipped back outside and found Elsa mopping up his blood. He quickly headed to her, "Here, there is a specific mix of chemicals that worked well with bloodstain,"
Elsa nodded, "Matthias already mixed it for me,"
Danny rubbed his neck, "Right..."
She looked at him, "You should sleep," She gestured at the extra bed beside hers. It was one of those inflatable air mattress that can be pumped up anywhere. However, this one looked more luxurious and thicker than the typical blue ones he saw used for camping. She had even placed a pillow and a blanket on it.
Danny looked at her, "Do you need help?"
She shook her head, "No. I am already done," She pushed the mop and bucket outside, "The maid will clear this up for me later," She looked at him and pointed at the bed, "Sleep,"
Danny immediately complied to her strict order, "Yes, ma'am," He laid down and watched as she turned off the lights. As she climbed onto her bed, he apologized, "I'm sorry for the scare. I'm just...too tired to get back,"
He lied...somewhat. He was being selfish. She offered him sanctuary at her place and he had took it up. He didn't know what it was about Elsa but...she felt safe in a manner that his friends weren't and his parents had stopped. He looked to the bed to see Elsa's eyes drooping even as she was turned towards him.
She mumbled, "I'll...keep you safe...Danny..."
Keep him safe. He smiled. It will be a hard thing to do, that. But...the sentiment was different. His friends had so many reasons to keep him. Because he was their friend, brother, and at one point, lover. His sister had a reason to keep him safe; he was family. But Elsa had no reason to do that. She did that simply because she was just that good a person.
Kindred.
When he next woke up, Elsa was shaking his shoulder, "Wake up. You need to get ready for school,"
Danny quickly sat up and stretched, getting his sleep kinks out and loosening the stiffness in his limbs. He's still a ghost, thank Ancients, so that meant that the treatment Elsa had given him yesterday worked like a charm. He smiled at her, "Thanks. See you at school!"
With that he, slipped out of her bedroom and shot away like a shooting start to his home. Invisibility and intangibility washed over him as he slipped into his bedroom before switching back to Fenton, his human body frigid and stiffer than usual. Rigor mortis fighting to settle in. He headed out for a quick shower, change into fresher clothes, put on his gloves, and ran out. He did not have time for breakfast and with Jazz out of the house for college, there was no quick breakfast.
When he reached school, he was finishing his last energy bar but it wasn't enough. Fortunately, last night's ghost meant that his usual would not dare come out of the Ghost Zone. Not even Vlad would cause problem today. He greeted Tucker, "Sup?"
Tucker quirked a brow, "Dude, what's wrong with your voice?"
Danny cleared his throat, "Long night,"
Sam reached them, "Morning,"
Danny rubbed his face before yawning, "Morning," He smacked his lips as he dragged his feet towards class. He looked up at the scent of winter blossoms and smiled at Elsa, "Good morning, snow cheeks,"
Elsa looked at him, his friends gawking at the flirtatious nickname he gave her, before handing him a wrapped up sandwich, "I thought you need this. Hopefully that will get you through first period,"
Danny looked at the sandwich, ripped off the paper and shoved them into his mouth. His eyes popped open at the taste of ectoplasm mixed with tuna mayo and lettuce with tomato. He smiled, "This is good..."
Elsa hummed, "Thank goodness for that,"
As she walked away, Sam frowned at him, "It's just a sandwich,"
Danny nodded, "Yeah. With secret ingredients,"
Tucker sniffed, "It's just tuna mayo,"
Danny finished his quick sandwich, "Yeah. With secret ingredients,"
He needed that shot of ecto. He would usually snuck some from his parents' collection for a quick fix after a long night like last night. But this morning, as usual, he had to endure the pain of rigor mortis as he loosen up his stiff, dying body, from being dead too long. It wasn't fun and it had only became a recent problem as his power grew stronger, so his friends didn't know. He knew that they still carry blame for what had happened to change him...or at least Tucker did.
Sitting in class, he cracked his knuckles to loosen the joints before rolling his head to warm up his neck.
Honestly, he must be an idiot thinking that switching between human and ghost won't have some side effect on his human body. At least, it's PE that day before lunch break. He will get to move his dead body just a bit more to really loosen everything up. Being this stiff was really uncomfortable.
He changed into the long sleeved and high necked compression sport's shirt underneath his school's sport uniform and a compression sport's pant underneath the school issued sport's short. Then he put on his gloves. Ever since he started putting the compression gears on, Dash had been needling him about being secretly trans and taking up testosterone to bulk up. Danny had just rolled his eyes at him, saying that they practically grew up together and they had seen each other naked a few times during adolescent. If Dash can't even remember that, he must need a brain surgery or something.
Tucker flexed his muscles, "Look at these guns,"
Danny shook his head, "You're really going at it with that body building, huh?"
Tucker snorted, "I need to keep up with you somehow! Can't be the only string bean noodle arms in our friend group, right? I mean, I still remember when Sam have more muscles than both of us!"
Sam joined them, "Not my fault you guys spent more time sitting on your fat asses than out exercising,"
Tucker laughed, "But Sam! Fat asses are in now! Haven't you heard about the ghosts chasing Phantom's fat ass?" He laughed at Danny's dead stare. Well, deader.
She punched his arm, lips twitching as she held back from laughing, "Missed me with that bullshit,"
Danny rolled his eyes, "Ha, ha, ha. Very funny guys,"
Ms Tetslaff shouted, "On the track, now!"
Danny sighed as he joined the class on their warm ups. The jocks played around, pushing each other and being a nuisance. The A-list girls spent more time gawking at the jocks or discussing the latest shade of nail polish. The nerds huddled together like penguins during a blizzard, eyeing the others like they were predators. Then there was Elsa, who dutifully stretched. Like him, she wore the compression gears to hide her skins under the shorter school issued sports wear. Unlike his navy colored set, hers were a sky blue. Just like him, she wore gloves.
He joined her, "Hey,"
Elsa stretched her arms up and glanced at him, "Hello,"
He whispered, "Where'd you get the secret ingredients?"
She quietly replied, "I crushed the ones I froze with a meat mallet," She then asked, "I hope it doesn't ruin the taste for you,"
Danny shook his head, "Nope. The salt balanced it out,"
After a moment, Ms Tetslaff had them run that gauntlet as usual. Danny held back as he did but he noticed Sam being more competitive than usual. Elsa was ahead. Recalling her love for parkour and free running, he wasn't surprised. He was more surprised that Sam seemed to be taking Elsa's ease personally. As he ran next to Tucker, he asked, "What's up with her?"
Tucker pursed his lips, "Don't you think you're getting too close with Elsa?"
Danny frowned, "She's my friend, Tuck,"
Tucker shrugged, "I don't know, man. You are all sorts of smiley around her," He added, "You can't blame Sam when it rubbed her wrong. You were hers...once..."
Danny scowled, "Don't push it, Tuck. Elsa had been nothing but kind, alright. Also, I'm not anyone's," He growled at that, "She's not my keeper. We had it good, but it doesn't work out. Please...just move on,"
Tucker sighed, "Sorry, man. I'm just stuck in the middle. You won't tell Sam why you broke up with her and you won't make up with her as anything more than friends. You're my friend and she's my friend and this shit is annoying as all butter biscuits, alright?"
Danny winced, "Sorry,"
Tucker shook his head, "She still loves you, you know that right?"
Danny grimaced, "I know..." And everything that was Phantom recoiled at it. He didn't know how to explain it and even if he could, Tucker can't see it. He's too close to see the damage that had been done.
Once upon a time, he did loved Sam. He didn't notice the crush even when he walked to his death, twice, for her. Danny Fenton loved Sam Manson. Danny Fenton died twice for Sam Manson. First time was an accident. Second time was just plain murder. Danny Phantom loved Sam Manson the first time, never blamed her for the accident. He was dumb too. Danny Phantom despised Sam Manson the second time, unable to wrap his mind as to why she would talk him to walk into the portal again, knowing he would die. Was it all just a game to her?
The Lichtenberg scar on his left arm hurt even as his heart raced in his chest, fighting to live only to die on command. Again and again.