"We've managed to sort out a schedule for my tutoring with Vlad," Danny said excitedly as he flew circles around Dash, who was doing his best to keep up and maybe try and get the excited halfa to stop. "He'll be coming over on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, and on Saturday he'll be there most the day. So we can still meet up here on the other days."
Dash finally managed to grab Danny's ghostly tail in his large, blocky hands. "Aha!" he exclaimed, before Danny just phased through his grip in wisps.
Danny floated more or less stationary, save for his ghostly tail, which flicked much like a cat's. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I was rambling again, wasn't I?" The halfa suddenly became really self conscious.
Dash waved off his concerns, despite thinking that Danny was rambling, despite his good reasons for being excited. "It's fine man, you weren't too much. I think it's great that you're happy."
Danny grinned and struck up a fighting pose with his upper body, keeping his ghostly tail. "Thanks Dash."
The two of them continued to let off steam, and Dash couldn't help but notice that Danny seemed to be much more comfortable in his ghostliness in an almost imperceptible manner. Perhaps it was the presence of his ghostly tail, which he usually fought off, favouring his more human legs, or maybe it was the general aura of happiness coming from the boy. Either way, Dash was genuinely pleased for him, if somewhat sad and disappointed at the fact that he still didn't have anyone quite like him in his life. It felt almost like Dash was losing some sort of special connection with the smaller boy, one brought on by shared experiences of isolation that was now dissipating as Vlad's influence in Danny's life grew.
A melancholy note hung over Dash's evening, and he wondered if he should, perhaps, look into networks of other changelings. It had been proposed to him previously, but it hadn't been until recently that he realised just how much he needed to be able to talk to those like him.
He pulled up the web browser on his computer, hunching over the blocky monitor as he typed a URL directly into the search bar. It slowly loaded, and he cursed his slow internet connection as the website slowly came into view.
A banner adorned the top of the website, with blocky text reading 'ICG forums'. Dash clicked to sign up, and runes twisted across the monitor, the runes' magical influence causing his eyes to flash amber momentarily before he was directed to input a username and password.
Upon choosing the username 'FootballBear', Dash was given access to the message boards and felt a rush of exhilaration. It had taken him years, but Danny getting a mentor was apparently the push he needed to join a community that would hopefully help him accept himself.
• • •
Danny's first official tutoring session with Vlad took place on the Wednesday, as the Monday had been more dedicated to working out how they would go forward, and establishing baselines.
Vlad had been impressed by the progress the younger halfa had made with his powers in such a short time, but noted how he was sloppy, vastly unpractised in comparison to the veteran halfa, in the use of his abilities, but he was somewhat skilled nonetheless. If Vlad was being honest, he was both excited and scared to see just how powerful Danny would become in time, with both the raw power of his core, which Vlad could feel the energy from whenever Danny shifted into his ghost form, and his aptitude with learning to control and use his powers.
Danny and Vlad sat cross legged on yoga mats in the lab, despite Danny's protests, and Vlad led the teen through the basic processes of telepathy.
"Telepathy isn't particularly difficult once you master the basics, and requires minimal energy exertion, but the initial learning can be a steep curve," Vlad lectured. "Since you already have experience with telekinesis, I suppose you are familiar with the basic principles of channelling your energy in a non-destructive manner. As such, I would like you to embed your thoughts that you wish to project with ectoenergy, much like how you would with an object, and will it to my own mind. Like this." Vlad said the last bit through telepathy, his words echoing oddly in Danny's brain, as though they were tangible in themselves, and yet not echoing at all at the same time.
It took a large amount of concentration, but after a few tries, Danny successfully communicated through telepathy, sending his words of "am I doing it now?" to Vlad's head.
Vlad beamed at him. "Yes, that's it!"
It took about an hour for Danny to be able to use telepathy consistently, but when they were done Vlad announced that they would be able to go into the Ghost Zone at the weekend after next.
Danny was less than ecstatic about the idea of going into the Ghost Zone than his mentor, whose pride and joy Danny could almost taste in the air. Actually, that might be a half-ghost thing. The Fenton parents had mentioned that ghosts could feed on emotions before.
Danny dismissed the thoughts as soon as they entered his head, hoping that Vlad didn't notice his sudden discomfort. As good of a teacher as the man was, he was very forward and direct with what he thought and wanted of the others.
The after school lessons came to an end, and Vlad declined to join the Fenton family in their dinner, apparently having work to attend to back at his own home.
Thoughts of travelling to the Ghost Zone invaded Danny's head during and after the meal, no matter how much he tried to banish the distressing thoughts of his nature as a halfa.
"I'm so gonna regret this," Danny muttered under his breath as he knocked on Jazz's bedroom door. He stood back and waited as he heard the sound of footsteps on carpet coming towards the door, which was opened by a curious-faced Jazz.
"Hey, uh, you know how you're always saying I can talk to you if I need to?" Danny questioned, only to be immediately ushered into the largely pink and fluffy bedroom.
Jazz gestured for Danny to sit on her bed, the covers neatly made without a single crease, while she took a seat on her padded metal chair by the desk coated in textbooks and papers.
"So, Jazz, what do you think I am as a halfa? A magical being or a ghost?" Danny questioned as he plopped onto the mattress beneath a shelf laden with heavy books.
Jazz raised an eyebrow. "Ghosts are magical beings, aren't they?"
"Yes, but, just answer the question please," Danny begged of her.
"Well, I guess you're both. I mean, a halfa is defined as being half-ghost." Jazz gently rolled a pen back and forth on her desk. "But I think the better question is what do you see yourself as?"
Danny cringed. Jazz always liked to turn personal questions back on whoever had come to her for advice in the name of helping them process their own thoughts and feelings.
"I see myself as a magical being," Danny forced out. "I think, the idea that I'm half-ghost scares me." He kept his baby blue eyes focused on the threads of the carpet.
"And why is that?" Jazz questioned.
Danny looked her in the eyes, tears beginning to leak from his own. "Because ghosts are dead, Jazz. And if I'm half ghost, then-" His voice cut itself off as a gargled sob tried to escape him.
Jazz had moved from her chair, and held his hands in her warm ones. "It's okay, Danny," she soothed.
"I'm too young to be dead!" Danny sobbed, the sound muffled as he placed his head on her shoulder in a pitiful hug. Jazz was taken aback by his words, but hugged her brother back regardless. She felt tears pricking at her own eyes at the distress Danny was in, but pushed them back in order to act as a rock, a support for Danny in his time of need.
Danny was eventually released Jazz from his embrace of grief, and wiped at his face with his hands. Jazz passed him a tissue, and he blew his runny nose. His face really wasn't a pretty sight at the moment - his eyes puffy and red, and the rest of his face following suit. He raised his head when Jazz coughed slightly and then spoke.
"Y'know, the Encyclopedia of Magical Beings said that halfas can be born, so being a halfa doesn't necessarily mean you're dead," she argued.
Danny pondered this for a moment, before shaking his head. "You weren't there when the portal accident happened." His lip wobbled as he spoke, but he pushed on through the influx of painful emotions. "It killed me. I died, Jazz." Danny sniffed, and Jazz passed him another tissue. "I think I'm half dead, and it terrifies me."
Jazz just ran her fingers through Danny's messy hair, letting him cry as much as he needed to. It was a good while before the flow of tears finally dried up, leaving Danny dryly sobbing while his sister comforted him.
"I don't know what you're dealing with exactly, but dealing with death is difficult for anyone," Jazz said now that Danny had calmed down enough to talk to. "Remember that we all love you regardless of what you are or are not, and what's important is that you're able to find a way to come to terms with this."
"Thanks Jazz." Danny gave her a half-smile, grief still present in his crystalline blue eyes. He gently lifted himself from the bed and walked over to the door. "I'll go clean up my face."
"Thanks, again," he added as he left the room.
Jazz smoothed out the wrinkles in her duvet, and shivered at the slight chill where Danny had been.
• • •
Danny threw his books and pencil case in his backpack the moment the bell rang to signify the end of the lesson. It was Friday, and he was definitely looking forward to the weekend - he was going to take his family to see the underground community, and as a result could feel a nervous excitement bubbling up inside him.
He sprinted over to the lockers, where Sam and Tucker were stood, talking in hushed tones.
"You can't, you know how much-" Tucker's quiet argument with Sam cut off mid-sentence as he saw Danny approach. "Hi Danny. Looking forward to the weekend?"
"Uh, yeah." Danny backpedalled. "What were you guys talking about just now?"
Tucker went to open his mouth, but Sam abruptly spoke over him. "There's something I need to tell you, about Vlad, at my place, in private. I found something you might find interesting."
"Have you been stalking him, or something?" Danny raised a quizzical eyebrow and folded his arms.
"What? No!" Sam exclaimed. "Just google searches and newspapers. Just hear me out, okay?"
"Fine," Danny conceded, letting his arms relax to his sides as he walked out of the school with his friends.
The chilly wind that whipped their clothes and hair about marked the turning point of autumn, from summer to the more-wintery climate. An electric tension hung around the trio, and their walking pace increased as they neared the large houses near Sam's home. Sam gave but a brief greeting to her parents before she shut herself in her room with the duo who'd trailed diligently behind her up the stairs. Papers littered her desk, and she opened the browser on her computer to reveal at least a dozen pinned tabs. Sam swiveled round in her chair to face Danny and Tucker. "Okay, so I know I said I'd give Vlad a chance, but I did some research on him, and it seems like my hunch might not have been wrong."
She held up a news article detailing how a billionaire had decided to gift Vlad Masters with a small fortune. The photo that accompanied it showed a bald, white man shaking Vlad's hand, while he stood opposite in a perfectly ironed suit, a neutral, almost smug expression upon his face.
"This isn't the only one - there are around a dozen more who just so happened to give Vlad a load of money around the same time, out of nowhere." Sam flipped through the stack of clippings. "He overshadowed them! It's totally obvious! Why else would they give a complete nobody a fortune like that?"
"He overshadowed them?" Danny questioned, his cold blue eyes narrowed.
"Yeah - it's basically like low-tier possession, and it just so happens to be a common power among ghosts, and as a result, halfas." Sam made exaggerated hand gestures as she spoke.
"But Vlad's right next to the dude in the picture," Tucker interjected, prompting a glare from Sam.
"I was a bit stumped by that at first too, but then I remembered that high-level ghosts are able to create duplicates. I know it seems like a stretch, but so is believing that billionaires and millionaires would just give their money and businesses to someone with nothing in return," Sam explained, then pointed at the computer screen. "And there's more: there were a series of invisible burglaries in Wisconsin about 15 years ago, which just so happens to be when Vlad was released from the hospital."
Danny lowered himself onto Sam's bed, sitting in a virtually catatonic state as he processed this information. "But, he wouldn't do that, right?"
"I'm sorry Danny, but Vlad probably isn't who you though he is. It's just all too suspicious." Sam rolled a bit towards him on the chair, and he flinched back.
"I just need to think," he said as he flickered in and out of visibility, before shifting into his ghost form and speeding invisibly through the ceiling, leaving Sam and Tucker solemnly gaping in the room.
Danny flew without looking where he was going, the information settling into his brain.
It just couldn't be right, could it? Surely Vlad hadn't stolen his fortune. He wasn't a bad person.
The young halfa crashed into his bedroom and jabbed at the power button on his laptop. The computer turned on painfully slowly, and Danny paced the room.
He went through article after article, page after page, before a knock on his door jolted him out of his focused state. He swiftly slammed on the minimise button of the tab. "What?"
Jazz poked her head around the door as it creaked open, and peered at Danny sitting at his desk. "Mom wanted me to tell you that dinner's ready. Are you okay, little brother?"
Danny only now noticed the salty trails of tears down his freckled cheeks. He wiped at them with his hand.The beads reflected a green glow back at him from the back of his hand, and he blinked his eyes until it was gone and his eyes returned to their usual baby blue. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Jazz gave him a questioning look, complete with a raised eyebrow. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Danny scowled. He opened and closed his mouth, unable to think up the words to explain what the problem was.
"What would you do if someone you trusted turned out to be a bad person?" he asked, eyes boring into her for an answer.
"I think that depends on who they are and what they've done," Jazz contemplated. "Do you think they can change?"
Danny paused. "I don't know..."
"Well, you can always think on it. Anyway, dinner. You might want to wash your face before you come downstairs." Jazz shuffled out of the room.
"Thanks, Jazz. Again, I guess," Danny said as he rose from his chair.
• • •
Danny hardly slept that night. His gut tied itself into knots and he felt sick from anticipation.
He stood uncharacteristically stiff as he waited for Vlad to come through the green swirls of the portal. With every second the lead weight in his stomach grew, and he wondered if he even wanted to talk to Vlad after yesterday, but forced himself to stay, if for no other reason than to seek either a confirmation or denial of the crimes from the older halfa.
Vlad arrived at almost exactly 10 am - the agreed upon time (Vlad was a morning person and wanted to start at 9 am, whereas Danny distinctly wasn't, so a compromise had been reached). Danny's breath hitched and he didn't know how to broach the topic.
"Are you quite alright, Danny?" Vlad asked as he landed on the basement floor. His cape drifted down, but never truly touched the floor in defiance of gravity. "You look rather pale. Like a ghost if I do say so." He chuckled slightly at his own joke.
Danny forced a smile onto his face. "Yeah, I'm fine." He took a deep breath and exhaled, letting the smile fall from his face. "Actually, I wanted to ask you something."
Vlad raised an eyebrow. "What did you want to ask?"
Danny paused for a long moment, pondering how to word his questions.
"How did you become a billionaire?"
Vlad gained a thoughtful look on his face, but Danny was more focused on the slight hint of fear that emanated from him. "I made a series of good investments and business deals. That's all there is to it really."
That was vague. Danny really didn't want to hear a vague response, and cut straight to the point. "And you didn't overshadow anyone or do any invisible burglaries?"
Vlad flinched. "What would make you suggest such a thing?" he sounded almost offended, however his face screamed fear and recognition.
Danny folded his arms and did his best to try and suppress his ectoenergy from rising into his eyes. "How stupid do you think I am? There was a series of invisible burglaries in Wisconsin that just so happened to be just after you were released from the hospital. Are you saying that was a random ghost that just so happened to have a use for millions of dollars of jewellery?"
"Yes?" Vlad shuffled a step back, recognising when he'd been caught out.
The green glow broke through and made Danny's eyes glow a vibrant light that clashed with Vlad's own pink glow and shone off the tears trickling down Danny's face like streams. "So I'm guessing you're going to tell me that a bunch of billionaires just so happened to want to give you specifically most of their money and businesses?"
Vlad gave a defeated sigh. "What kind of answer do you want, my boy? Yes, I stole and overshadowed, but that's in the past. I was new to my powers, and in the wrong frame of mind to use them rightly."
"I don't know! I hoped you were a good person! I hoped you hadn't used your powers like that!" Danny didn't even bother to wipe at the tears that were now pouring down his face. "And now what? You want to do good by training me? Just tell me it isn't true!"
"Well that would be a lie, now wouldn't it?" Vlad stepped forward to try and comfort Danny, but the younger moved back against the wall. "I truly am sorry, and training you is not merely an attempt to clear my own conscience. I-...They say a man's true nature is what he is like upon being given power, and I am an unfortunate example of that, but I have changed in the years since. I've been working to create clean energy, and develop technologies that could improve the lives of billions. And besides, it's not like the billionaires needed all that money."
"So, what? Does this mean you'd be willing to give your fortune to charity? Help the poor?" questioned Danny.
"Well, I-" Vlad looked at Danny with pleading eyes. "All of it?"
Danny locked his eyes with Vlad's. Ice seeped up the wall behind him. "It's not like you need all that money."
"You know what? I don't have to stay here and deal with this behaviour from you, Daniel." Vlad spun on his heel and stormed towards the portal. "Feel free to get in contact when you've calmed down."
Danny huffed. "You're one crazed up fruit loop! You know that, right?" he yelled as Vlad walked through the toxic green swirls of the ghost portal.
Jazz came thundering down the stairs. "What's going on? Is everything okay?" she exclaimed. Her eyes fell on Danny's tear-stained face. Her face softened. "Danny?"
Danny wiped at his cheeks, fruitlessly trying to get rid of the rivulets that kept trickling down despite him not wanting to cry in front of his sister.
"Yeah, no. Vlad's not teaching me anymore," he said with a grim conviction.
"What!? Why?" Maddie Fenton came down into the basement, and Danny cringed at the concern and upset in her voice.
Danny shuffled his feet. "He's not who I thought he was. He's not who any of us thought he was."
Maddie gave Danny a tight hug, and he wept into her shoulder.
"Do you want to take this to the living room to explain?" Maddie enquired, crouching down to speak to Danny more at his eye level.
"Um, yeah," he replied. The stream of tears had stopped by the time the family had sat down together on the armchair and sofa. An air of apprehension hung in the room, and Danny wasn't sure how to break the uncomfortable silence that had formed.
Fortunately for him, he didn't have to, as his father broke it with a question. "What happened Danny-boy? Where's Vlad?"
"Vlad left." Danny cringed. "We had an argument."
Danny took a breath to try and ground himself before he let out the bombshell of what he'd confronted Vlad about.
"Sam showed me a load of news articles the other day, and Vlad stole his entire fortune from others using ghost powers."
Jack's breath audibly hitched with a short gasp, and he let out a small, "oh, Vladdy."
"I'm sorry Dad," Danny continued. "I can show you the evidence, if you want. He used invisibility to rob jewellery stores at first, and then he overshadowed billionaires to get them to give him their money and businesses.
It's just typical. Just when I thought I've found someone I can relate to, he turns out to be a fruitloop." Danny scowled and muttered the last part and he fidgeted with the bottom of his T-shirt.
"I'm so sorry, Danny." Jack put a hand on Danny's shoulder. Danny didn't look up, staring at his jeans, but he could feel the waves of upset coming from his father.
"It's not your fault," Danny said, pushing a sincere, sympathetic warmth into his tone, past his loathing of Vlad. He had a feeling that that apology wasn't just directed at him, but also Vlad, for the accident that started this all.
The rest of the family conversation was spent thinking about how to continue with Danny's training, sans Vlad, since Danny really didn't want to see the older halfa any time soon, and they concluded that after school and at weekends would be the best time to train in the lab, much like before. It would be more difficult without someone who already had experience with using ghost powers, but they could always work it out as they went along, much like Danny had before meeting Vlad.
Wanting to end the conversation on a light tone, Danny spoke up as they were about to get up to make lunch. "You guys still want to go see the underground community tomorrow, right?"
"Of course!" Jack brightened up at the prospect of finding out more about the supernatural. He'd already insisted on reading the Encyclopedia of Magical Beings after Jazz, which had only peaked his interest in actually meeting some more of them.
Danny had spent the rest of the Saturday on his homework and playing Doomed with Tucker, who expressed slight concern about the idea of the Fenton parents going into the underground community, largely the fact that they had a habit of being a tad destructive. Danny, however, was more worried that his parents would embarrass him with their excitement and inappropriate questions.
Regardless of their concerns, they were able to wholeheartedly agree that it would be good for Danny's parents to know more about the supernatural aspects of his life, and the community as a whole. Danny also felt a sort of acceptance in his parents enthusiasm that he couldn't quite put his finger on.
The Sunday came along, with sunlight filtering onto Danny's groggy face while he deeply regretted his late night Doomed session, especially after his lack of sleep from the friday night.
Sam and Tucker met the Fentons at their door, and the group made their way towards their usual alley entrance. Jazz and the Fenton parents exchanged sceptical and confused glances when the trio of friends suddenly stopped near the end of the tight street.
"Wanna do the honors, Danny?" asked Sam, gesturing to the large magical insignia on the wall.
"So I just touch the center of it?" he questioned, as he did just that. Green sparks flew out from his fingertips, and an explosion of the same purple energy that appeared when Sam opened it lit up the symbols. The section of wall moved downward to create the doorway, and revealed the slope lit by flickering, ice blue flames.
"Incredible!" muttered Maddie. "An autonomous motion caused by the energy from the touch. How does it work? How do you know where to touch the wall?"
"Huh? In order: I don't know. Magic, I guess," Danny replied. "And there's a circle, with loads of symbols and stuff around it. Can't you...? Oh, you can't see it."
"How about we head into the tunnel and I'll explain how it works on the way?" Sam suggested, making her way towards the entrance.
The others nodded along, and Sam continued to explain once they entered the pathway. "The magical circle's made with the instructions of how it should move and is activated by touch in the center of the circle. Then it was enchanted to only be visible to magical beings."
"Are magic circles a common occurrence amongst magical beings?" asked Maddie.
Sam gave a so-so motion with her hand. "Eh, ish. Only a really powerful magic user would be able to make something like the one at the doorway, but most witches, wizards, druids, sorcerers, etcetera can make more basic ones. I think the one at the doorway was made by a warlock, but I might be wrong."
"How interesting. Are you able to make magic circles?" Maddie continued her interrogation.
"Yeah, just like plant and protection-based ones right now though," Sam responded, torn between being uncomfortable with the constant questions and liking being able to talk about one of her areas of interest. "My magic's mostly life-based, so I can make plants grow, repair stuff, stuff like that. My grandma's trying to teach me some healing charms to use on people and animals, but I can't seem to get the hang of it."
"That sounds like a really useful skill to learn," Maddie commented, as they drew close to the archway that led into the fountain square.
"Welcome to the underground community!" announced Danny as his parents and sister took in the bejeweled surroundings with awe.
"Woah," said Jazz, her mouth hanging open.
The assorted crowd milled around, most casting a curious glances towards the Fenton family, with their brightly coloured jumpsuits.
"Is it just me, or are people staring at us?" Jazz said quietly to Danny.
He looked to his parents, then back to her. "Yeah, I think I can see why." Danny then spoke louder, as to be heard by his parents, who were excitedly talking to each other and pointing at everything around them like children in a candy shop. "Where do you guys wanna go? We can get more books at the Skulk and Lurk, or go to the market, or the Crystal?" He ticked the places they could visit on his fingers.
The Fenton parents were quite slow to answer, unable to decide, so Jazz cut in. "I don't know about everyone else, but I want to get more books."
There was no resistance against this idea, so the group found themselves being guided by Sam towards the dingy bookstore. As per usual, a dim light shone throughout the small room, highlighting the foil print on the spines of some of the hardback books.
Jazz immediately began scanning the bookshelves, picking up the occasional book to read the blurb.
Jack Fenton, on the other hand, had struggled to fit through the doorway to the shop, and decided, with the help of a tug at his arm and guidance from his wife, to not run between the old shelves. The large man was surprisingly gentle when he picked up a book with a tea bag brown cover for someone whose mere presence usually led to destruction of some sort.
Danny noticed the deliberate cautiousness in his father's actions, and appreciated the effort. He might have been gawking and pointing outside, but he did try to show respect and care in his own way, even if his excitement often did get the better of him.
The trio of supernatural friends kept an eye on the human members of the Fenton family as they browsed the seemingly random books (although Sam, and to a lesser extent Tucker, somehow seemed to know the layout and sections within the place).
"Hey, Danny, look at this."
Danny looked over to Tucker, who was holding a faintly glowing, hard-bound book.
"What is it Tuck?" he asked as he peered over Tucker's shoulder. The book had a faded purple cover made of some odd material, not quite leather and not quite scales, but something in between and alien. The cover had odd sigils on it, that seemed to glow, but also not at the same time, as though the light did not exist in this realm. They swirled around in Danny's eyes, making them glow an acid green, and rearranged themselves into familiar letters and words.
Much to Danny's surprise, he could perfectly read the script on the book. He gasped and read it out loud, sounding out each syllable as if it were difficult to pronounce. "Pariah's reign and afterlife."
"It's in ghost."
Danny startled at Sam's voice, and looked up from the book abruptly to see her peering over his shoulder. "Huh?" he said, struggling to be coherent. "I- what?" Looking back at the text he saw the symbols for what they originally were before they were decoded by his mind, but could still make out the meaning in the squiggles.
"It's in ghost," Sam repeated,then elaborated. "It's the universal language among ghosts. I've used it sometimes in charms."
"But I never learned it," Danny interjected.
Sam merely shrugged. "It's a universal language, Danny. You must have learned it when you became a halfa."
"But how do you know I know it?" Danny was even more perplexed now, with only a slight understanding of what everyone was saying in the back of his mind.
"Dude, you literally spoke it earlier," Tucker deadpanned.
Danny's eyes blew wide. "I what?!"
"What's going on?" queried Maddie. The rest of the Fenton family were standing nearby, curious as to the topic of discussion between the trio of friends.
"Can you read this?" Danny thrust the book towards his parents, who looked at it with thinly veiled confusion.
"No, I've never seen anything like this before. Why?" replied Maddie.
"Because apparently it's ghost." Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "And I can kinda read it..." He trailed off, getting very quiet towards the end.
"What does it say, Danny-boy?" Jack happily boomed, clearly excited about this new information.
"Pariah's reign and afterlife."
"So that's what you were saying earlier," exclaimed Tucker.
"Yeah?" Danny confirmed with an unsure tone.
"Man, you spoke ghost. It sounded all weird," Tucker shuddered recalling the unearthly sounds that his friend had somehow been able to produce. "Like, it was really spooky sounding."
"Maybe you can learn to switch speak ghost at will," suggested Sam. "It could come in really handy for visiting the Ghost Zone."
"We're still going to the Ghost Zone?" asked Danny and Tucker in unison.
"Well, duh. You can't miss out on something like that. Besides, if Vlad could do it on his own, then I'm sure it's fine for us," Sam said dismissively.
"But isn't it dangerous?" Jazz spoke up.
"Not with our Spectre Speeder it isn't!" Jack shouted exuberantly. "It's fitted with a built in ghost shield and weapons, and it's powered by ectoplasm, so it'll never run out of juice."
Maddie joined in on his excitement. "And Vlad gave us some of his research on the Ghost Zone, so we have some information on the atmosphere and geography. It's really interesting actually: the Zone seems to have a breathable ectoplasmic air, so we could even leave the Speeder if we needed to. Although we aren't yet sure of the effects of ectoplasmic contamination, small amounts don't seem to be harmful to human physiology."
"So it's decided, we're going to check out the Ghost Zone next weekend," Sam confirmed, her slight glare towards Tucker signaling that there was no room for debate.
The Fenton family paid for their stack of books, including the book in ghost, and Danny found himself laden with heavy bags as they left the store.
"How about we check out the market next," suggested Danny, then he instantly regretted it when he realised how much they'd already bought.
The market was as busy as it was on their first visit to the place. The stalls were packed to the brim with products for sale, and Danny looked over to find his parents were already over at a stall with spectral detection devices and seals, interrogating the poor, slightly intimidated seller. Quite a few of the beings around were staring at the excited couple in a mixture of confusion and caution.
"I thought they were humans," commented a troll with a great hulking form at the edge of the crowd, with mossy stone for skin.
This sparked a discussion amongst the beings, sprinkled with notes of worry and panic at the knowledge that Amity Park's infamous ghost hunters were in the supernatural hub of the town.
Danny and Jazz cringed at the attention, and Danny felt like turning invisible.
"Are you okay?" asked a fairy, hovering over to the two Fenton children. "You seem worried. The ghost hunters aren't threatening you, are they?"
Danny felt like he wanted to shrink in on himself. "What? No! They're my parents."
It seemed that Danny might have been a little too loud in his response, as the discussions seemed to shift to be about him.
Maddie and Jack Fenton rejoined the group of teenagers, with a bag of papers and slips with words in ghost and symbols written on them.
"Is it just me, or is everyone talking about us?" Maddie queired.
"They're talking about us," Danny huffed. "We should probably go."
"But we've barely done anything here," whined Jack, only to be cut off by Jazz.
"Danny's not comfortable with the attention. You can always come back another day." The teen crossed her arms.
Jack opened his mouth to complain, but stopped when Maddie put a hand on his arm. "If the kids don't want to stay here, then don't you think we should do the responsible thing and not make them any more uncomfortable."
With that, the group of mostly humans made their way back through the crowds of magical beings to the passageway, only approached a couple of times by concerned passersby, who wanted to know what they were doing there.
Once back at Fenton Works, everyone set about unpacking what they'd got from the trip.
Slotting the ghostly book on its side on top of other books on his bookshelf, and making a mental note to clear out his bookshelves, Danny glanced at the time on the alarm clock on his bedside table. The clock read 2 PM, and Danny was half-surprised it had only been a few hours in the community hub, while half of him felt that it should have been longer.
He changed his mind and picked the ghostly book back up. Danny flopped down on his bed and opened the cover to read the first page.
The language felt more like it communicated through meaning and emotion than words, channeling the soul of the writer, and Danny soon found himself lost in what should have been a dry retelling of Pariah Dark's afterlife.
Pariah Dark had formed deep in the ectoplasmic folds of the Infinite Realms with the imprinted goal to be king of the Ghost Zone. He had spent several centuries gaining reputation and power, working to create infrastructure within the Ghost Zone. Dark's rule was cemented by the creation of the Ring of Rage and Crown of Fire to channel the power of the Ghost Zone itself, amplifying Dark's own, along with the construction of Pariah's Keep.
Time passed, and Dark integrated the Ghost Zone with the politics and community of the material world's supernatural community.
It was during his time of communication with the material world, that led to Pariah Dark gaining a romantic relationship with a mortal woman named Eira - a witch with a speciality for life-based magic. In this relationship, Eira birthed Dark's son - Richard Pariahson, who was raised in a mixture of the ghost and mortal worlds. Pariahson proceeded to join the supernatural council of Sweden and Norway, further improving relations between the living and ghost communities.
This was all for naught however, as during the seventh age of Pariah's reign Richard Pariahson was assassinated at the age of 158 by the Order of the Rain. Pariahson's death resulted in Dark pledging to find and kill all those involved in Pariahson's murder, which led to the murder of countless innocents who Dark suspected of involvement in the plot.
The supernatural council refused to continue communications with the Ghost Zone following the murders, infuriating Dark, who felt that his actions were entirely justified.
In an act of defiance, Dark set about preparing armies to conquer the living world.
A group of powerful ghosts known as the Ancients banded together to prevent Dark's plans by taking the Crown of Fire from him and sealing him in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep.
As such, the Ancients were able to gain rulership of the Infinite Realms, and formed a government of sorts consisting of the council of observants. The Ancients then made reparations with the mortal world in exchange for continued communication between the two realms.
Unfortunately the council's authority was not respected by the general populous of the Ghost Zone, and smaller factions formed with their own governing bodies, while the vast majority of the Ghost Zone fell into anarchy.
Danny was torn out of the book towards the end by his door being opened. He glanced up to see a slightly miffed Jazz standing in his doorway.
"Mom says dinner's ready," she said simply. "You should really pay attention to the world around you a bit more Danny. I was knocking on your door for ages."
Danny picked up a scrap of paper from his desk and shoved it between the pages of the book, which he set down on his bed. "Sorry about that. I was reading."
"Is that the ghost book?" Jazz asked as Danny stretched and stood up from his bed.
"Yeah," Danny confirmed. "It's a really good book."
"What's it about?" Jazz queried as she and Danny made their downstairs.
Danny paused for a moment, trying to think of a good answer to summarise the book, then replied. "It's about the history of Pariah Dark, the king of the Ghost Zone."
"Oh, yeah. Wasn't he mentioned in the Encyclopedia of Magical Beings?"
"Yeah, he had a halfa son, then when his son was killed he did a bunch of stuff that led to him getting locked away in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep."
Danny and Jazz entered the dining room, and seated themselves at the table, where a pie and pots of vegetables sat in the middle.
"What took so long?" asked Maddie as she finished serving herself a slice of pie and passed the knife to Jazz.
"Danny was reading and didn't hear me when I knocked on his door," said Jazz.
Danny blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "It's a good book," he defended in a mumble.
"What were you reading?" Jack enquired, giving himself a large helping of pie that splatted with a puddle of gravy on his plate.
"Pariah's Reign and Afterlife," Danny said through a forkful of pie.
"Ooohh, isn't that the book that's in ghost?" Jack's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Can you read it easily?"
Danny shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. It took a moment to get used to it, but it's pretty much the same as reading english, but with emotion."
"With emotion?" asked Maddie, a sceptical look on her face.
"It's hard to explain." Danny poked his carrots around the plate. "It's sorta like the words don't just have meaning, but also feeling. Like you can feel the emotions of it. Kind of like tone."
"That makes sense. Ghosts are largely emotional in nature to the point that some can feed off human emotion," Maddie explained. "You should probably practice speaking ghost for next weekend since you can understand it so easily."
"Yeah, but I don't know how to switch between speaking ghost," complained Danny.
"Maybe you have to channel your emotions, or something?" suggested Jazz.
Danny shot her a quizzical look and tried to recreate the feeling of reading ghost in his head. "Am I speaking it now?" His voice had an odd echo to it, not dissimilar to how it sounded when he was in his ghost form, but more so. He could hear the odd sounds of ghost at the same time as his intended message, like a mix between the wind blowing amongst the trees and human speech played in reverse.
The confused and amazed looks on his family's faces were all the answer he needed.
Jack was the first to shake himself out of his momentary shock. "Woah, that was brilliant Danny-boy. Great idea, Jazz!"
"Wait, what does it sound like to you guys?" Danny timidly asked.
The others were silent for a moment, then Jazz piped up. "It's like when you play audio backwards, but also really distorted, like a wailing and static."
Jack nodded along. "It actually sounded like some of our recordings from the Ghost Zone we got when we sent out probes after the portal started working. I wonder if we might have picked up some ghosts' conversations. We tried making a ghost gabber to translate them, but so far all it can do is identify when a ghost is talking."
"Do you think that you could try teaching us some ghost?" Maddie enquired to Danny, who shrugged in reply.
"I mean, I can try."
The rest of the conversation was spent discussing whether it would be possible for a human to learn the ghost language. Jack made the point that Sam had known the symbols of the language, so it should be theoretically possible for a human to learn to speak it as well.
Danny nearly forgot about his homework in his parents' excitement, but begrudgingly pardoned himself to his room to do it despite how much he wished he could spend more time with his family. This whole thing with the ghost language was just as new and exciting for him as it was his parents, and he was beginning to consider that ectology might not be so bad of a career path.
He settled down at his desk and began to ponder what on earth Shakespeare's intentions were, or rather what would get him a good grade. The waning orange light outside reminded Danny that he was very much tired, and he made haste to finish his essay before going to bed and falling asleep like a rock under the covers.
After school Danny found himself listening to the audio recordings of ghosts that his parents had mentioned the previous night, doing his best to translate the conversations of the ghosts who had passed by the Fenton microphones.
"They're saying that the portal doors are an eyesore," he said, trying his best to suppress a chuckle at the colourful language the ghosts in the recording had used to describe the yellow and black striped blast doors.
Jack frowned, his bushy eyebrows drawing together. "Well they're wrong," he muttered petulantly, arms crossed.
Maddie patted him on the back in an attempt to comfort him. "Perhaps not everyone shares your tastes, Jack."
They played some more audio clips, which were mostly just excerpts from mundane conversations about this and that: wanting to go on vacation, relationship advice, and an angry rant about some guy named Walker.
The conclusion that was reached was one that didn't surprise Danny, but debunked his parents previous theories about ghosts being sub-human and malevolent in nature. Ghosts were very much like humans, with mundane worries and goals, like their living counterparts.
However, as Maddie brought up in the conversation, much to Danny's discomfort, the idea of ghosts having obsessions could not be ruled out. Danny decided not to mention just how passionate many of the conversations he'd heard had been, as it would do nothing but support this theory.
The rest of the week passed far too fast for Danny's liking, and was far too tiring. He continued training his powers with his parents along with trying to teach them some ghost, something that proved to be difficult. The Fenton parents couple were unable to speak the language, but were able to understand a few odd words and phrases. It was quite obvious that the language would not be easy for a human to learn, with the sounds being alien to the human consciousness.
During these sessions Danny perfected being able to switch seamlessly into speaking ghost at will, and even wrote in it.
It was now friday evening, and Danny's nerves about the upcoming trip to the Ghost Zone peaked.
"Will you relax, Danny?" snapped Sam, as Danny passed her once again with his pacing. "Your parents have the Spectre Speeder and more ghost weapons than they really should have. And you have ghost powers."
"But we don't know what it's like in there!" exclaimed Danny. "And, it's not just that..." He dropped down onto his bed, a sombre expression on his face. "I, the portal accident still scares me, okay? I know it's irrational, but I want to stay well away from that thing."
"Oh." Sam stared at the floor and tears tickled at her eyes.
"Dude, we'll be there to help you through it." Tucker sat next to Danny and rubbed circles into his back.
"Thanks Tuck," said Danny, wiping the tears from his cheeks. "That means a lot."
Tucker's phone took that moment to ding. "Sorry man, Mom says I've got to head home now," he apologised. "See you tomorrow."
"I should probably go home too. I'm sorry Danny." Sam stood up to follow Tucker out the bedroom. Guilt was written across her face, and even Danny could tell that she wasn't just apologising for leaving.
"It's not your fault, Sam," he tried to say, only to be stopped by Sam.
"I know, I know. But I still feel like it is."
Danny gave her a slight smile. "Even so, I'm glad the portal accident happened. I don't think I'd ever want to go back to being normal."
"'Night Danny." Sam smiled back, equally shaky yet genuine.
Danny flopped backwards onto his bedspread, now alone in his room with his swirling thoughts, but whenever the thought of the portal came into his mind, he reminded himself of all those he could turn to for help, and it made his shaky smile turn into a more heartfelt one despite the nerves that still jittered under the surface.
• • •
The Spectre Speeder sat in the middle of the lab, Maddie and Jack doing last minute checks while the kids stood to the side of the room.
"Ready everyone?" asked Jack, grin splitting his face. "Are all your jumpsuits good?"
The group of teens looked down at the spare orange and black jumpsuits with an X shape across the chest securing the bag of ecto weapons and supplies on their backs. All of the teens bar Danny, that is, as his status as a halfa meant that concerns of ectocontamination were a moot point.
"Right, let's get going!"
The group packed into the hovering, small spacecraft-like vehicle, the trio in the back bench seats and Jazz on a sideways facing seat like the ones against the wall of a bus, strapped in for safety, despite Jack Fenton's usual disregard for safety features on his inventions.
Devices and dials covered the front panel of the craft, while the back had less, but still a significant amount of them on the upper walls. Large windows stretched around the Speeder, giving everyone inside a good view of whatever they would find outside.
Engines powered up and Sam and Tucker squeezed Danny's hands from their respective sides of him on the bench. The green swirls engulfed them as they drifted forward. A chill ran down Danny's spine, while at the same time he felt charged with energy.
The pure green gave way to an endless landscape of floating islands and doors with ghosts floating sporadically throughout. A few heads turned when they saw the Speeder, but they seemed more curious than anything else.
"Woah!" Danny gasped as he saw the view outside the windows. "It's amazing!"
"And creepy," added Jazz.
"Fascinating," commented Maddie. "Gravity seems to work differently here than in our dimension. I wonder if all physics function differently in the Ghost Zone."
Conversations broke out among the occupants of the Spectre Speeder as they drifted deeper into the Zone, but stopped abruptly as a large shadow loomed over them.
Staring out the front window they could see a tall, intimidating ghost dressed in a white suit, with a fedora and gaunt, almost skeletal face. His pure green eyes narrowed as the Speeder slowed to a halt in front of him.
He brought out a heavy book and flicked through the pages.
"Trespassing. That's against the rules."