#DPxKH

[galactic-feelins]

It Was The Night Of The Meteor Shower

Inspired loosely by a prompt, Danny’s friends and family did not survive the events of The Ultimate Enemy. Knowing what he could’ve been, he decides to find his own way through his grief. Although the ghosts of future are dealt with, he now uncovers ghosts of past, and it seems he misunderstood the ghosts in the present.

Pov: Danny going through quite possibly the worst week of his life whilst reliving the worst days of his life.

Link to prompt!

I’ve been thinking back on life lately. Like, was any of that a dream, or was it too real?

- - -

The lab in the basement was always a little unnerving to be in. Exposed wires on unfinished projects, cables running haphazardly across the ground, loose tools scattered everywhere, honestly it’s always been a mess at best. If this were a well known work place, our house would’ve definitely been condemned by now! Walking in now, I immediately regret my decisions up till now. Mom and dad’s latest project may be a bust, but they clearly haven’t cleaned up after they were done!

“Woah! Watch your step there!” Tucker jokes, but this isn’t the first time the floor has been covered in some mysterious substance, let alone a step on the stairs. At least Tucker and Sam seem to be enjoying themselves while I’m stuck with keeping them safe, but what are friends for? “Promise you won’t touch anything in here?” It may be obvious, but I have to ask!

Sam tisked at me sarcastically. “Psh, yeah, I was planning on drinking from mysterious flasks myself. Maybe chew on some cables or steal something radioactive.”

“Sam, I don’t think there would be anything radioactive in here! Danny lives just upstairs from here, wouldn’t he get poisoned if there was?”

“Cable,” I pointed out, just as Tucker was about to trip right over an extension cord, pulling him back for good measure. “Look, I know! Technology, cryptozoology, general weird cyber-goth stuff; I get it! But this stuff is dangerous! You’ve gotta trust me here!”

Sure, they understood of course, but it’s not like they were as serious about it. I’ve lived with this, I know how dangerous the equipment here can be, and I know you need to approach everything here with extreme caution. Maybe that’s why they figured they are safe here with me. Maybe they think I can protect them. I honestly have no idea where they got the idea I could protect anyone.

I could see Tucker shaking, trying so very hard not to pick up the gizmos and gadgets littering the lab to look at closer, but it’s for his safety he doesn’t touch them. I keep an eye on him the most, since Sam is only taking pictures with the camera she brought. I think she brought it so we could work on some project for school, but honestly making memories is more fun. Well, more fun when it’s not in your parents’ ghost hunting lab, anyway. I was watching Tucker lean to look at another side of some kind of circuit board when I heard from Sam again.

“Hey wait! Danny, you have a suit?”

“Ah- maybe? Huh?” Startled, I shot to attention to find Sam picking up a black and white jumpsuit. “Wh- hey!” 

I rush over to snatch it from her hand. It’s safe, clean in fact, and mostly unworn. The jumpsuit itself may not be dangerous, but it’s definitely a blow to an already fragile ego. I hold it out to try and fold it back up properly, but then I hear a click-snap. The camera shutter makes me flinch and I can’t help but glare at Sam.

“Oops?” Sam grins mischievously, brightly, and knowingly. “Hey! Maybe you can try it on!” I really didn’t want to, and she could see it. Sam followed up her request. “Please? I just wanna see it! I’m sure it looks good on you!”

I sigh, knowing defeat and knowing it’s a fairly innocent request. I can wear a jumpsuit fine, and I know it’s tailored to fit me. Heck, maybe it’ll be easier to prevent disasters if I’m protected too! So I step away to put it on over my clothes, listening in on their conversation about the portal itself. Ugh, the portal.

“So they really made a portal?”

“Supposedly, yeah! His parents really seem to believe it could work!”

“But why? We don’t even know if ghosts are real!”

I zip up the front and walk back over to rejoin the conversation, only to find Tucker leaning in closer. He seems to be listening to the hum of machinery. To be honest, it is a nice sound, pretty calming at times, but it can get annoying and usually indicates something live and active. I pull him away by the shoulder as I chime in.

“Well, I think they tried this in college too. Whatever results they found must’ve proven it in their heads that this could work.”

Sam starts snickering, but I can tell by the look she’s giving me that it’s not something I said. In fact, I know exactly what it is. Without saying anything, she walks over and rips off a huge decal of dad’s face from my chest. Honestly, good riddance. I’m sure dad wouldn’t mind a little defacing, as a treat.

“Oh! Idea!” Tucker snaps and points to me as he continues. “We should get a picture of you in the portal like that!”

“Oh yeah!” Sam chimes in. “Yeah in the hollow space there! With you in the suit, standing in front of all of this machinery here, it would look so cool and, maybe even professional!”

Well, it is an interesting idea, and it would look pretty cool. I agree! The jumpsuit has a hood and goggles to protect your scalp and eyes respectively, but we’re not doing anything except posing for a picture. It would look better without the hood anyway, so I leave it down. With that, Sam and Tucker get in position further away while I step inside.

I’ve never been so close, let alone inside of one of my parents’ inventions. Walking in feels surreal. The lights, dots, and lines running across the walls and ceiling are vast and interwoven, and yet so organized and strategically oriented. It’s like one massive circuit board with so many mechanical bits exposed. Clearly this part of the portal wasn’t meant to be seen. As I’m looking around, I feel something hit my foot as I try to take another step, sending a jolt up my spine in a panic. I feel myself lose balance and instinctively I stumble to catch myself. My hand lands on something, usually it would be fine to hold the wall, but in this case I feel something give under my palm. The hum of the portal grows louder, something whirs to life around me, and taking my hand off the wall reveals a button that reads “on” just below it. Realization hits, and I look to Sam and Tucker, but it’s too late. The last thing I see is their panic reflecting mine, before a sharp pain in the back of my neck introduces itself.

- - -

I woke up on the floor. Reality spun for a bit, and I wasn’t sure where I was. I could feel I was laying on some kind of concrete, and I almost thought I was in the lab again. It would’ve been an easy mistake, but I remember now.

I’m in a warehouse, in some city I’ve never known, and I am alone. Sitting up, I rub my hand through my hair, taking a moment to remember where I am and why. I am here because I, Daniel Fenton, am running for my life. Some strange ghosts have been popping up more and more frequently lately, and they’ve been chasing me far more aggressively than any ghost I’ve ever met. Not even Skulker is as bad as these guys! 

In the beginning, there weren’t that many, so they were easy to handle. It was always so strange that they made sounds but never spoke, and they seem to follow pure instinct and emotions. These ghosts don’t banter, have no obvious obsessions, and sometimes I see weird tattoos on them. In fact, there seems to be multiples of them, like blob ghosts. I could fight them off for a while, and I could stop them from attacking random people. A lot of ghost hunters got their infamy and fame for getting rid of these guys too, so it wasn’t that big of a deal. Now, however, it feels like swarms of them are tracking me down at all times. 

Just as I was thinking I could never get a rest from them, I feel a chill and see an icy trail of smoke leave my mouth. It seems it’s time to get moving again. I stand and slap myself in the face for a quick burst of energy before transforming. Almost as if on queue, the shadows cast on the ground rise into solid shapes, puffs of black smoke appear and strange knight looking guys drop in the smoke’s place, and all of their beady yellow eyes stare back at me with what I’ve come to understand is killing intent.

Knowing where they are now, I bolt in the opposite direction, flying straight through walls and ceilings, getting as far from my assailants as possible. These guys are persistent, but it seems most of them don’t know how to fly. Problem is, some do. Once I’m outside, I catch sight of some more of the strange ghosts, these ones winged and colorful. “Are the wings really necessary?” No response, as always. It seems there’s only about, say, 7 total? At least 3 different shapes at a glance. Since they’re in the air, it’s probably safe to say a few ecto-blasts should take care of them no harm done!

A bit of blasting, a bit of punching, a few scratches here and there, and the numbers start dwindling! Sometimes after hitting them enough, they’ll poof and turn into weird heart shaped cores, so I stuff them in the thermos! I can’t exactly dispose of them anywhere, not anymore especially, so this thing is getting a bit crowded. The good news is I don’t try to stuff every ghost I see in there. In fact, the number of flying guys has increased dramatically over time already, so I figured I gotta leave again. 

Of course they followed me. I tried to stop somewhere for a moment when I thought I got enough distance, but there they are! In the distance! Flying towards me! From this vantage point, it’s easy to see just how many of them there are total. I see the ones from inside the building scrambling out, and I can see many more from the shadows and side streets all skittering out as a crowd. “Oh boy,” here we go again.

- - -

Back then, I woke up to a weird feeling that has since become normal. Everything was light and tingly, and yet so, so weak. I could hear shouting, though too muffled to understand right away. When I finally tried to open my eyes, there was a red flashing, giving way to a green glowing light occasionally. When I came to, I saw Tucker and Sam’s faces, panicked and every crying, yelling and begging for me to say something or give a sign that I was ok. I didn’t feel ok, but I tried at least sitting up at the time.

White hair, white gloves, black suit. There might have been a decal, something tells me there wasn’t, but the decal looks cool enough it might as well have always been there. With help I stood up, and we found our way to a mirror so I could see the damage for myself. I was glowing, but not in a figurative way, but more in the way a hot iron will glow white with heat, or maybe how some toxic goo would glow like a vat of glow-sticks. There were my eyes, staring back like green neon signs on a horribly scratched up sign. As I began to panic, I watched my face twist in the mirror into something else, which only made me panic more. The more I panicked the less human I looked, and the less human I looked the more I panicked, but Tucker helped ground me again. Sam comforted me and had me take deep breaths. Before I knew it, I was myself again, black hair and all. Life had never been the same since that day. The way everyone else in Amity Park know it, that was the night of the meteor shower.

- - -

I finally found another moment’s rest. Ironically, it was the presence of another ghost that calmed my nerves. Unfortunately it was Skulker that decided to stop by.

“Well, you sure are far from home, aren’t you?”

“Can you really say I have a home anymore? You know what happened.”

Of course Skulker knew. He smiled knowingly before thankfully changing the subject. “Those shadow ghosts really have it out for you huh? They should really know their place!”

“Heh, yeah, I wonder what I did to piss so many off them off like this!”

“Oh, what didn’t you do!”

Admittedly, he got a laugh out of me. Feeling a bit more at ease, I sit down on a dumpster nearby. Skulker can make himself comfy on his own. I can’t help finding it strange that Skulker is the only other ghost I know that’s approached me so far. I have been running for a few weeks now, so I have gotten pretty far from the ghost portal, but even then there are other ghosts out there! And yet, it almost feels like everyone’s avoiding me. Skulker is the only one that I’ve been able to confide in lately.

“So what do you think their deal is?” I don’t wanna change the subject yet. I have had plenty of time with these guys and I wish I knew what they’re doing.

“You think I would know? You think I would send them after you like that?”

“What? Nah! You hunt alone don’t you?”

“Exactly that, welp! I don’t need any hounds chasing you and herding you to me! I can and will catch you on my own terms!”

“Oh goodie. Always wanted to be mounted on a wall.” The sarcasm might’ve been lost on Skulker, but it helps me stay calm.

“Maybe some day, but today is not that day! I need you in top performance before I can hunt you down proper! For now, I will help you in your time of need. Hunter’s honor.”

“Hunter’s honor…” I respond a little quieter, honestly not sure if that’s a thing. Something about it feels less like a promise, and more like camaraderie. I suppose I could have been considered a hunter, but, “I can’t be a hunter. I’m not hunting anything.”

“Oh, aren’t you? I believe I remember you were hunting for a solution to your uh… situation…”

My situation is not the same! I can’t say that, I couldn’t even bring myself to answer. My situation… it’s hard to explain, it was a stupid spur of the moment decision. Meeting clockwork, seeing Amity Park’s future, knowing what I could become, it’s all a mess I wish I could forget. I stare at a nearby wall, holding my chest, and feeling not only my pulse but a soft drumming of something foreign and new.

I failed to save them. I failed to save my friends from disaster. I don’t know what gave them the impression I could save them, especially if I was the one that put them in danger. After that explosion, there were no survivors of that accident. I saw some kind of light leaving their bodies, I could hear a soft hum from each of the lights. The hum was familiar, but much quieter than the one I’m familiar with. I was scared, and I didn’t want to lose what little what left of my friends and family. So I grabbed on. I rushed to scoop up those little lights before they flew away or shattered with how young and fragile they were. I held them close in grief, and then, they were gone. I could still feel them now, but they weren’t in my arms anymore. What’s left of everyone is right here, with what’s left of me.

“I can’t find a solution if I’m dead.” I realize my poor choice in wording immediately. “Gone. Turned to dust. Reduced to atoms. Nothing could save them then.”

“Well, you wouldn’t have to worry about your grief anymore if, you know, you weren’t conscious anymore? I could put your cores in a jar and put it up on my mantle!”

“Oh what are you, a heartless?”

A beat. A… Heartless?

“Oh, so the welp doesn’t know grammar either, it seems!”

I don’t respond, and he seems to catch on. Why did I say that? Why is it getting to me? What is a heartless and why does it feel familiar? I try to stand again, but my legs start feeling a bit wobbly, and my head gets fuzzy. A heartless. What is a heartless? Why do I know this? My energy is spent, and as the world goes dark I hear a vague shout, and I hit the ground.

[galactic-feelins]

Part 2: Ghosts Of Past And Ghosts Of What Could Have Been

Pov: Danny’s stuck dreaming in a memory he doesn’t recognize. What would normally be brushed off as fantasy, instead seems to answer too many questions to be fake.

It’s a late night after patrolling the town, I decided to hang out at the park to relax for a bit, and I’ve found some strange material that I’ve started fidgeting with. It had started turning up around in random places ever since the ghosts started running loose. It’s a little squishy, a little stretchy, but very durable. The strangest part is how even ghosts can’t pass through it. It’s not dangerous and it doesn’t hurt at all, it’s just way too solid. It’s like a bar of soap compared to raw Ectoranium. Sounds made up, but that’s life for ya.

As I was sitting on the grass, playing with this softball sized cube of mystery material, I had a strange feeling rush through me, but it wasn’t ghost sense so I ignored it. Just as I went to bite the material, I saw a spaceship in the sky. It sounds like a dream, and it sure didn’t look real compared to the vehicles mom and dad made for ghost hunting, but it looked the same texture as the material I was biting into at that moment. 

After a moment of staring in awe, I realized something and hid behind a nearby tree. Sure enough I heard a voice! Several voices actually! Ones I had never heard around here before! They said-… they were talking about-…

I couldn’t remember. It’s a blur. I don’t remember this! When did this happen? That night I fell asleep at the park! Or… I thought I did? The next morning I was in bed and it was… Monday? But that was Saturday night! 2 days later? 

Something’s wrong. 

Who were those people on the ship? One of them sounded young. Sounded… 14. How do I know that? Something must have happened. I need to retrace my steps somehow!

Back at the tree, I’m listening in on some conversation. They’re getting closer so I turn invisible and peak around to watch. The ship is gone but there’s a small ring of light I hadn’t noticed before. So far everything else is normal. There are 3 people walking away from where I thought I saw a ship, 2 of them in fur suits and the third is a 14 year old boy dressed like some cartoon character I don’t recognize. They must be cosplayers. That’s a normal enough explanation! Staying invisible, I attempt to follow them, listening in and hearing something about a “heart of the world,” or something like it. I start following closer and closer behind, believing I would lose them otherwise, but I feel a horrible chill that makes me gasp with that familiar vapor.

“Who’s there?” The boy whips around, startled by the sound behind him. I don’t know how to respond at first, but I don’t have to. Before I could say anything, one of those dark shadow ghosts pops up from where they weren’t looking anymore.

“Behind you!” I didn’t think before shouting. I forgo the invisibility as I instead rush between the kid and the duck guy, charging up a shot in my hand.

I hear a metallic sheen behind me now, and I could feel the kid whip back around to see the threat, but I’m focused on shooting the ghost and stopping it from lunging for the strangers. By now I’ve learned these ghosts are hardy and will recover even when they’re reduced to their cores, but I still didn’t have the best aim yet and only managed to hit its shoulder. Luckily it got knocked away with that hit!

Just when I was getting prepared for a brawl, the kid rushed forward with some kind of metal weapon and bonked it dead. “Woah…” I breathed out an exasperated reaction to… I believe it was a metal pole with a hilt, designed to look like a key. I must not have seen where he was carrying it, but it really is a strange choice for self defense.

“Thanks for the heads up,” the guy smiled, “but why were you following us?” His first question wasn’t even ‘why were you invisible’ or ‘who are you’ or anything like that. I don’t understand what’s with this guy! Before answering I check my hand to know how I look right now. Phantom. Great.

“W-well, I don’t know you!” I look away and put a hand to the back of my neck, flinching for a moment at the residual shock of a sensitive nerve. “Amity Park is my haunt, and I need to keep everyone here safe! I just, you know, uh… I-I didn’t know if you’re trustworthy, ok? I need to know who is or isn’t trouble so I can stop them before things get rough!”

“Your haunt?” The guy thinks for a moment before suddenly he beams. “Woah! So you’re like a guardian angel? That’s so cool! I’m Sora, by the way!” Suddenly he holds his hand out to me. This “Sora” character sure is friendly, huh? And a little too trusting.

“Phantom.” I take his hand and give the handshake a soft pat with the other hand. Looking at him a bit closer, and Sora looks like he would be in my class if he were from here. He was just 14. 

“So, are the heartless normal around here? You seemed to know what it was! How come?”

His curiosity is sickeningly sweet, but it’s infectious. “Heartless? You mean that weird ghost? The shadowy one? Well, I guess you could say they’re the new normal around here. They’re just a little weirder and more aggressive than the regular ghosts.”

The way he’s looking at me with those big shiny eyes, maybe I over estimated with 14! This guy is like a kid in a candy store, or one being read bedtime stories! “Ghosts? Is that how you turned invisible?”

“Yeah, I am a ghost. That’s why.”

“That’s so cool! But wait, what about the heartless?”

I don’t fucking know dude! I didn’t know there WAS a difference until now! I can’t be rude to the strangers. Luckily, the dog fur-suit guy spoke up, freeing me of these questions.

“Uh, Sora? I think we should focus and go find the keyhole!” He turned to face me, and it starts dawning on me his mouth was definitely moving with each syllable. That’s not a costume is it? “Uhyuk, it was great meeting you, Mr. phantom! You take care now!”

With that they turned to leave, talking amongst themselves all cheerful and happy go lucky. I have a gut feeling I can’t leave them alone, however, and I begin to follow them. I know my way around this town, but I don’t know what keyhole they could be talking about. As my mind wanders on what they could mean, I tune out their conversation. But something new catches my attention. They haven’t noticed me following them yet, but I sense something about them. 

That soft hum in my core next to my pulse, it’s still only the one core, yet I can feel more than us four here. Listening in a bit closer and getting a feel of the air, I find where that feeling is coming from. The dog and duck feel normal, if not for the fact they have a pulse that radiates energy like a core would, but Sora…

Before I could snap to my senses and stop myself, I’ve already placed a hand on Sora’s back. He shivers loud and comically, both from the cold and from being startled. “Sorry,” I say without even thinking or taking my hand away. Just as I thought, it feels as if Sora has several cores stored inside. They’re similar to the dog and duck’s cores, but cores all the same.

“What’s the big idea?” The duck quacks. “Are you TRYING to give people a heart attack?”

“There are 3…” I mutter to myself, but it seems they heard me. Sora turns to look at me sounding confused, and I meet and match his look. “You have 2 extra cores. One of them seems…” I try to find the words and shiver, retracting my hand and rubbing it slightly. “I hope that one’s ok. Are you ok?”

“Are YOU ok?” Sora responds by grabbing my hand and turning the question around on me. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost! What’s wrong? What’s a core?”

I pause for a bit trying to collect myself, but then a moment where I see the irony in what Sora said I can’t help but laugh! Never mind all that core stuff! “I know! I’ve looked myself in the mirror this morning and everything!” I continue to laugh, setting a hand on Sora’s shoulder for support. “Come on, let’s just find that hole you’re looking for! Where would something like that be?”

Dodging the question didn’t alleviate their concerns at all it seems, but it sure alleviated mine! There were more of those ghosts, now known as Heartless, blocking our paths occasionally, but it turns out that yeah they could defend themselves! In fact, those heartless cores seemed to fly off never to regenerate into more heartless, strangely enough. I began to learn more about these heartless, and learn things I should’ve known this whole time. Meanwhile, it seems Sora can’t stop thinking about what I could mean about him having multiple cores. I’m sure he’ll get over it!

Time seems to blur now. Maybe whatever we talked about here wasn’t important enough to remember? The talk of a keyhole stirs up a vague memory, but it’s so hazy. Backtracking a bit, I remember having to fight a really big ghost and needing some backup. I couldn’t remember any details, but now it seems to clear up again.

That ghost was another heartless. It has the strange symbol on its chest and everything, and it’s absolutely massive! The heartless here seems very lion like, sporting a fluffy mane around a mask-like face, but the limbs are disembodied and closer to raccoon paws with their hand like shape. Despite the combination sounding like it’d be relatively small, this behemoth stands hunched over at about 2 stories tall.

The heartless spins its hands around its large torso before they jut forward, the mask shaking to make a clattering shifty sound. It’s taunting us! Even Sora seems worse for wear at this point, and I can’t blame him. This thing is huge! It’s barely affected by any hits we’ve dished out! We rush forward again, Sora and his friends try to attack the legs while I try to fly up to see if there’s a weak spot somewhere. Maybe the mask is covering something vital?

The heartless winds up slowly to slam down on the ground, but this time we see it coming! Sora gets out of the way in time, and if I do say so myself I weave through the gap in the hands gracefully and effortlessly! When the hands slam down I swear I hear the duck faint again. Must not have gotten out of the way in time! Oh well, he’ll be fine, he’s done this 5 times in the past hour alone. Now that Sora is to the side of the hands, it seems he has an idea. Even from up here I can see something click in his head as he jumps onto the hand. Not to attack it, mind you, but it seems he grabs on and ride it when the heartless brings its hand back up!

“Clever clever,” I tease. “Just try not to get smacked off like a fly!” Sora joins me on the beast’s shoulder, noticing some discoloration on the back of the beast’s head and neck. I fly a bit higher to see if I could rip its mask off, but the mask seems to float a short distance away from where the face would be. Going back to the neck, I help Sora with blasting the discolored spot.

After a few good hits, the heartless hunches over in pain, the sudden shift catching us off guard. Sora got it worst of all, nearly slipping off. Seeing him about to fall I rush to catch him. “I’ve got you!” And I was right! He likely would’ve fallen if I hadn’t been there! From this vantage, Sora notices the mask is hanging parallel with the ground. He could probably stand on it! Noticing his thought process we rush over and find the face of the beast! Not so tough looking under that mask!

Turns out, beating it up in the face and shooting some fire and ecto blasts did the trick! Before we knew it, the heartless keened and fell to the ground, dissipating into smoke. Where it had been, a huge heart floats away.

“Wow, that’s one MASSIVE core! Don’t you think?” I turn to Sora to make light conversation, but he suddenly looks shocked and concerned by my question. “Are you ok?” I try to ask, just in case I’m seeing things.

“Are you talking about the heart?” His response is another question?

“Well yeah, these guys seem to have a heart shaped core, but it’s a core nonetheless! Right?”

My answer seemed to shake him up more. He suddenly holds his chest, staring at the ground as if trying to understand something. It finally dawns on me. If he’s calling those cores hearts, and he’s looking for the “heart” of the world, is he looking for the planet’s core? Outwardly I scratch my head with a frustrated groan. The heart vs core confusion probably means he’s also realizing something about those cores in him too. This night has gotten so complicated.

Suddenly I have an epiphany. “Let’s go home,” I say simply, turning to take his hand and heading out back.

“Wh-huh? But we haven’t found anything we’re looking for yet!” Sora sounds confused and alarmed, but I can’t blame him anymore. If I didn’t know about having extra cores in me I’d be alarmed too!

I simply turn to Sora with a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, we’re getting there! We’re off to Fenton Works, so be prepared for a mess!” Luckily that heartless was really close by! Just around the corner and down the block, actually! 

“Oh yeah! Just a heads up, I’m going to have to turn you intangible and invisible at times. You’ll see why soon enough, don’t worry!”

“You can do that?” It seems Sora didn’t know I could make someone else do what I do. 

“I guess it didn’t come up? Eheh, oops?”

Soon enough we get back home, and before Sora could try knocking on the door or ringing the doorbell, I grab hold of him and phase us through the wall. We’ve gotta hurry here, so I keep a tight grip on him as I guide him down to the basement lab, giving a sign to stay quiet. The duck and dog are too loud so they have to wait outside the house, but that’s ok!

Getting to the basement, Sora gasps as an unsteady feeling hits him. “I know,” I mutter to him, knowing full well how sickening the portal feels when you’re not used to being around it. The air is heavy and full of ectoplasm, and it’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s home. Even Sora seems concerned, knowing what I said about going home. 

I stop us in the middle of the room, holding a hand out towards the portal. “So here we are! The portal to The Ghost Zone! A straight shot connection between Earth and the land of the dead!” Sora seems sick just looking at it, so it go to step in front of him. Maybe I can recollect his focus. “So, does this seem very ‘heart of the world’ to you?”

After a moment Sora finally shakes away the those horrible feelings the portal was giving him. “Actually, it does sound like it! But then, how do we get to the heart?” Sora begins to pace, watching his surroundings carefully. At least he’s not tripping on anything, unlike a certain someone I know. After a moment he turns back to me with curiosity. “Can you turn the portal off?”

Sure enough, the portal is too stable, and at best we can close a door on it. That door doesn’t block everything though, but that’s the best we’ve got. I shake my head with a shrug, but then a new idea occurs. “What if the world’s core is not just in the portal, but through it?” Before I could give Sora the chance to understand what I’m talking about, I fish out a fishing line for a rope, and dig out a protective helmet for Sora. “It’s risky business, but you should be fine going in for only a few seconds if need be!”

Sora goes pale! “I’m not going in there!” I can’t blame him, really. I can’t help but laugh a little at his reaction. Setting the stuff for that idea aside, I walk closer to the portal. Everything seems the same as normal, so I dip my head in to look around. Again, everything seems normal here! That soft hum of the portal around me is soothing in a strange and twisted way. The rush of ectoplasm feels kinda nice now that I’ve gotten used to it. It’s like floating in the ocean, heavy and vicious, but calm and soothing.

Then I hear something I’d never heard before, or maybe I have only once before. A shimmering sound from behind me, and a metallic sheen. I can’t see anything in the portal itself that could be making that sound, so I back out, just in time to hear a locking sound as my hand leaves the portal. I look back to Sora, and I see that giant key again. I don’t know where he’s been keeping if, but now he had it pointed straight at the portal.

“What just happened?” I look back at the portal, and everything looks the same. Sure it seemed to shimmer a little extra for a moment there, but everything is the same as always.

“Well, you were right! The heart was in the portal!” He just grins at me triumphantly, as if that answers my questions. “So once it showed up, I closed it! Now the world’s safe!” AND WHAT DOES THAT MEAN‽ 

With a job well done I escort Sora back outside and the three of them left. It seems the sun had already come up while we were downstairs, so I hurried back up to my room and transformed. Everyone’s going to be waking up soon, I can’t let them know I stayed up all night! So I rush into pajamas and get in bed to pretend I’ve been asleep… and then I woke up at 11am.

That next day is still blurry, but I had to apologize to Sam and Tucker for not coming home at the scheduled time. It really was my fault for ditching them, to be fair, but when we went to the park to make up for it, we found Sora again. The rest is still hazy, but I recall feeling very stressed trying to hide that I’d already met him the night before. I think he was there because he and his friends couldn’t easily leave in broad daylight, but I’m not sure anything super important happened there anyway. If I can’t remember it, it must not have mattered after all! 

But… what does that mean for the night before? As I think back on what that could mean, what those memories had and why I couldn’t remember before, I start to wake up again.

It Was The Night Of The Meteor Shower

Inspired loosely by a prompt, Danny’s friends and family did not survive the events of The Ultimate Enemy. Knowing what he could’ve been, he decides to find his own way through his grief. Although the ghosts of future are dealt with, he now uncovers ghosts of past, and it seems he misunderstood the ghosts in the present.

Pov: Danny going through quite possibly the worst week of his life whilst reliving the worst days of his life.

Link to prompt!

I’ve been thinking back on life lately. Like, was any of that a dream, or was it too real?

- - -

The lab in the basement was always a little unnerving to be in. Exposed wires on unfinished projects, cables running haphazardly across the ground, loose tools scattered everywhere, honestly it’s always been a mess at best. If this were a well known work place, our house would’ve definitely been condemned by now! Walking in now, I immediately regret my decisions up till now. Mom and dad’s latest project may be a bust, but they clearly haven’t cleaned up after they were done!

“Woah! Watch your step there!” Tucker jokes, but this isn’t the first time the floor has been covered in some mysterious substance, let alone a step on the stairs. At least Tucker and Sam seem to be enjoying themselves while I’m stuck with keeping them safe, but what are friends for? “Promise you won’t touch anything in here?” It may be obvious, but I have to ask!

Sam tisked at me sarcastically. “Psh, yeah, I was planning on drinking from mysterious flasks myself. Maybe chew on some cables or steal something radioactive.”

“Sam, I don’t think there would be anything radioactive in here! Danny lives just upstairs from here, wouldn’t he get poisoned if there was?”

“Cable,” I pointed out, just as Tucker was about to trip right over an extension cord, pulling him back for good measure. “Look, I know! Technology, cryptozoology, general weird cyber-goth stuff; I get it! But this stuff is dangerous! You’ve gotta trust me here!”

Sure, they understood of course, but it’s not like they were as serious about it. I’ve lived with this, I know how dangerous the equipment here can be, and I know you need to approach everything here with extreme caution. Maybe that’s why they figured they are safe here with me. Maybe they think I can protect them. I honestly have no idea where they got the idea I could protect anyone.

I could see Tucker shaking, trying so very hard not to pick up the gizmos and gadgets littering the lab to look at closer, but it’s for his safety he doesn’t touch them. I keep an eye on him the most, since Sam is only taking pictures with the camera she brought. I think she brought it so we could work on some project for school, but honestly making memories is more fun. Well, more fun when it’s not in your parents’ ghost hunting lab, anyway. I was watching Tucker lean to look at another side of some kind of circuit board when I heard from Sam again.

“Hey wait! Danny, you have a suit?”

“Ah- maybe? Huh?” Startled, I shot to attention to find Sam picking up a black and white jumpsuit. “Wh- hey!” 

I rush over to snatch it from her hand. It’s safe, clean in fact, and mostly unworn. The jumpsuit itself may not be dangerous, but it’s definitely a blow to an already fragile ego. I hold it out to try and fold it back up properly, but then I hear a click-snap. The camera shutter makes me flinch and I can’t help but glare at Sam.

“Oops?” Sam grins mischievously, brightly, and knowingly. “Hey! Maybe you can try it on!” I really didn’t want to, and she could see it. Sam followed up her request. “Please? I just wanna see it! I’m sure it looks good on you!”

I sigh, knowing defeat and knowing it’s a fairly innocent request. I can wear a jumpsuit fine, and I know it’s tailored to fit me. Heck, maybe it’ll be easier to prevent disasters if I’m protected too! So I step away to put it on over my clothes, listening in on their conversation about the portal itself. Ugh, the portal.

“So they really made a portal?”

“Supposedly, yeah! His parents really seem to believe it could work!”

“But why? We don’t even know if ghosts are real!”

I zip up the front and walk back over to rejoin the conversation, only to find Tucker leaning in closer. He seems to be listening to the hum of machinery. To be honest, it is a nice sound, pretty calming at times, but it can get annoying and usually indicates something live and active. I pull him away by the shoulder as I chime in.

“Well, I think they tried this in college too. Whatever results they found must’ve proven it in their heads that this could work.”

Sam starts snickering, but I can tell by the look she’s giving me that it’s not something I said. In fact, I know exactly what it is. Without saying anything, she walks over and rips off a huge decal of dad’s face from my chest. Honestly, good riddance. I’m sure dad wouldn’t mind a little defacing, as a treat.

“Oh! Idea!” Tucker snaps and points to me as he continues. “We should get a picture of you in the portal like that!”

“Oh yeah!” Sam chimes in. “Yeah in the hollow space there! With you in the suit, standing in front of all of this machinery here, it would look so cool and, maybe even professional!”

Well, it is an interesting idea, and it would look pretty cool. I agree! The jumpsuit has a hood and goggles to protect your scalp and eyes respectively, but we’re not doing anything except posing for a picture. It would look better without the hood anyway, so I leave it down. With that, Sam and Tucker get in position further away while I step inside.

I’ve never been so close, let alone inside of one of my parents’ inventions. Walking in feels surreal. The lights, dots, and lines running across the walls and ceiling are vast and interwoven, and yet so organized and strategically oriented. It’s like one massive circuit board with so many mechanical bits exposed. Clearly this part of the portal wasn’t meant to be seen. As I’m looking around, I feel something hit my foot as I try to take another step, sending a jolt up my spine in a panic. I feel myself lose balance and instinctively I stumble to catch myself. My hand lands on something, usually it would be fine to hold the wall, but in this case I feel something give under my palm. The hum of the portal grows louder, something whirs to life around me, and taking my hand off the wall reveals a button that reads “on” just below it. Realization hits, and I look to Sam and Tucker, but it’s too late. The last thing I see is their panic reflecting mine, before a sharp pain in the back of my neck introduces itself.

- - -

I woke up on the floor. Reality spun for a bit, and I wasn’t sure where I was. I could feel I was laying on some kind of concrete, and I almost thought I was in the lab again. It would’ve been an easy mistake, but I remember now.

I’m in a warehouse, in some city I’ve never known, and I am alone. Sitting up, I rub my hand through my hair, taking a moment to remember where I am and why. I am here because I, Daniel Fenton, am running for my life. Some strange ghosts have been popping up more and more frequently lately, and they’ve been chasing me far more aggressively than any ghost I’ve ever met. Not even Skulker is as bad as these guys! 

In the beginning, there weren’t that many, so they were easy to handle. It was always so strange that they made sounds but never spoke, and they seem to follow pure instinct and emotions. These ghosts don’t banter, have no obvious obsessions, and sometimes I see weird tattoos on them. In fact, there seems to be multiples of them, like blob ghosts. I could fight them off for a while, and I could stop them from attacking random people. A lot of ghost hunters got their infamy and fame for getting rid of these guys too, so it wasn’t that big of a deal. Now, however, it feels like swarms of them are tracking me down at all times. 

Just as I was thinking I could never get a rest from them, I feel a chill and see an icy trail of smoke leave my mouth. It seems it’s time to get moving again. I stand and slap myself in the face for a quick burst of energy before transforming. Almost as if on queue, the shadows cast on the ground rise into solid shapes, puffs of black smoke appear and strange knight looking guys drop in the smoke’s place, and all of their beady yellow eyes stare back at me with what I’ve come to understand is killing intent.

Knowing where they are now, I bolt in the opposite direction, flying straight through walls and ceilings, getting as far from my assailants as possible. These guys are persistent, but it seems most of them don’t know how to fly. Problem is, some do. Once I’m outside, I catch sight of some more of the strange ghosts, these ones winged and colorful. “Are the wings really necessary?” No response, as always. It seems there’s only about, say, 7 total? At least 3 different shapes at a glance. Since they’re in the air, it’s probably safe to say a few ecto-blasts should take care of them no harm done!

A bit of blasting, a bit of punching, a few scratches here and there, and the numbers start dwindling! Sometimes after hitting them enough, they’ll poof and turn into weird heart shaped cores, so I stuff them in the thermos! I can’t exactly dispose of them anywhere, not anymore especially, so this thing is getting a bit crowded. The good news is I don’t try to stuff every ghost I see in there. In fact, the number of flying guys has increased dramatically over time already, so I figured I gotta leave again. 

Of course they followed me. I tried to stop somewhere for a moment when I thought I got enough distance, but there they are! In the distance! Flying towards me! From this vantage point, it’s easy to see just how many of them there are total. I see the ones from inside the building scrambling out, and I can see many more from the shadows and side streets all skittering out as a crowd. “Oh boy,” here we go again.

- - -

Back then, I woke up to a weird feeling that has since become normal. Everything was light and tingly, and yet so, so weak. I could hear shouting, though too muffled to understand right away. When I finally tried to open my eyes, there was a red flashing, giving way to a green glowing light occasionally. When I came to, I saw Tucker and Sam’s faces, panicked and every crying, yelling and begging for me to say something or give a sign that I was ok. I didn’t feel ok, but I tried at least sitting up at the time.

White hair, white gloves, black suit. There might have been a decal, something tells me there wasn’t, but the decal looks cool enough it might as well have always been there. With help I stood up, and we found our way to a mirror so I could see the damage for myself. I was glowing, but not in a figurative way, but more in the way a hot iron will glow white with heat, or maybe how some toxic goo would glow like a vat of glow-sticks. There were my eyes, staring back like green neon signs on a horribly scratched up sign. As I began to panic, I watched my face twist in the mirror into something else, which only made me panic more. The more I panicked the less human I looked, and the less human I looked the more I panicked, but Tucker helped ground me again. Sam comforted me and had me take deep breaths. Before I knew it, I was myself again, black hair and all. Life had never been the same since that day. The way everyone else in Amity Park know it, that was the night of the meteor shower.

- - -

I finally found another moment’s rest. Ironically, it was the presence of another ghost that calmed my nerves. Unfortunately it was Skulker that decided to stop by.

“Well, you sure are far from home, aren’t you?”

“Can you really say I have a home anymore? You know what happened.”

Of course Skulker knew. He smiled knowingly before thankfully changing the subject. “Those shadow ghosts really have it out for you huh? They should really know their place!”

“Heh, yeah, I wonder what I did to piss so many off them off like this!”

“Oh, what didn’t you do!”

Admittedly, he got a laugh out of me. Feeling a bit more at ease, I sit down on a dumpster nearby. Skulker can make himself comfy on his own. I can’t help finding it strange that Skulker is the only other ghost I know that’s approached me so far. I have been running for a few weeks now, so I have gotten pretty far from the ghost portal, but even then there are other ghosts out there! And yet, it almost feels like everyone’s avoiding me. Skulker is the only one that I’ve been able to confide in lately.

“So what do you think their deal is?” I don’t wanna change the subject yet. I have had plenty of time with these guys and I wish I knew what they’re doing.

“You think I would know? You think I would send them after you like that?”

“What? Nah! You hunt alone don’t you?”

“Exactly that, welp! I don’t need any hounds chasing you and herding you to me! I can and will catch you on my own terms!”

“Oh goodie. Always wanted to be mounted on a wall.” The sarcasm might’ve been lost on Skulker, but it helps me stay calm.

“Maybe some day, but today is not that day! I need you in top performance before I can hunt you down proper! For now, I will help you in your time of need. Hunter’s honor.”

“Hunter’s honor…” I respond a little quieter, honestly not sure if that’s a thing. Something about it feels less like a promise, and more like camaraderie. I suppose I could have been considered a hunter, but, “I can’t be a hunter. I’m not hunting anything.”

“Oh, aren’t you? I believe I remember you were hunting for a solution to your uh… situation…”

My situation is not the same! I can’t say that, I couldn’t even bring myself to answer. My situation… it’s hard to explain, it was a stupid spur of the moment decision. Meeting clockwork, seeing Amity Park’s future, knowing what I could become, it’s all a mess I wish I could forget. I stare at a nearby wall, holding my chest, and feeling not only my pulse but a soft drumming of something foreign and new.

I failed to save them. I failed to save my friends from disaster. I don’t know what gave them the impression I could save them, especially if I was the one that put them in danger. After that explosion, there were no survivors of that accident. I saw some kind of light leaving their bodies, I could hear a soft hum from each of the lights. The hum was familiar, but much quieter than the one I’m familiar with. I was scared, and I didn’t want to lose what little what left of my friends and family. So I grabbed on. I rushed to scoop up those little lights before they flew away or shattered with how young and fragile they were. I held them close in grief, and then, they were gone. I could still feel them now, but they weren’t in my arms anymore. What’s left of everyone is right here, with what’s left of me.

“I can’t find a solution if I’m dead.” I realize my poor choice in wording immediately. “Gone. Turned to dust. Reduced to atoms. Nothing could save them then.”

“Well, you wouldn’t have to worry about your grief anymore if, you know, you weren’t conscious anymore? I could put your cores in a jar and put it up on my mantle!”

“Oh what are you, a heartless?”

A beat. A… Heartless?

“Oh, so the welp doesn’t know grammar either, it seems!”

I don’t respond, and he seems to catch on. Why did I say that? Why is it getting to me? What is a heartless and why does it feel familiar? I try to stand again, but my legs start feeling a bit wobbly, and my head gets fuzzy. A heartless. What is a heartless? Why do I know this? My energy is spent, and as the world goes dark I hear a vague shout, and I hit the ground.