#judgemental citizen of Amity Park

[another-shameless-fangirl]

Demon

“They aren’t really ghosts, you know.”

“What?” Danny blinked out of his bliss staring out at the lights that floated across the park and turned his attention to the voice on his right. Each of the soft lights dotting the distance he had figured was a spirit, moving aimless and slow or following a habitual path they had carved out for themselves in life and found comfort in after death.

An old man sat on the bench near where Danny stood on the concrete path under an ancient willow. His grey hair thinned at the top and was combed over a pale bald head. His wire glasses were rectangular and too large for his thin face. Danny couldn’t tell the man’s age but spots and lines of concern felt long ago made him pretty sure the man was at least 70. Danny turned his body toward the man stiffly.

He wasn’t used to people actively talking to him. Since the accident happened and he started high school, he cut off all communication with Sam and Tucker barely acknowledging them in the hallway and letting them draw their own conclusions as to why he was avoiding everyone now. It was safer for them to think he was just a jerk instead of… whatever he was now. Half human, half ghost, it was all so confusing. Until he figured out exactly what he was, whether he really was a hybrid or not, then they would be better off without him.

The past few months had been lonely but he wasn’t sure this was the kind of company he wanted in their absence.

“They look like people but they aren’t.” The man told him certainly and Danny felt a chill go up his spine. He did not see the man there when he walked up to stand under the willow tree to observe the peaceful scene. He wasn’t sure why but he felt like an intruder. He looked out at the peaceful lights flying and walking in the distance then back to the seated man. Danny smiled politely.

“They’re not people. They’re ghosts.” He said lightly but where his conversation went, he really wasn’t sure. There was no way the man had lived in Amity Park without knowing about the ghosts that lived here too. The man shook his head, tutted, and crossed his wrinkled arms to his chest. His weathered wood cane shifted against the bench but did not fall.

“They look like that to trick people.” He said with a malice that made Danny recoil.

“That… They’re not tricking anyone. They’re just existing.” He said and the man scoffed at him.

“They look like that to make themselves more palatable for people. These things are evil.”

Danny stared at the man who glared across the scene before them. The ghosts who could only come out at night were harmless. Most of them were Echoes, ghosts that couldn’t do much more than relive a moment in their lives that proved they had existed at all. Danny had tried once to speak to one of these souls and they either didn’t see him or had ignored him completely. He wondered which it was sometimes and what the difference was between him and them. Were they ever at the same power level he was? Able to move freely and follow his own thoughts? Were they evil like the man said?

Was there enough difference between them that he could be sure he wasn’t evil too?

“How do you know they’re really evil? They’re not hurting anyone.”

“They’re biding their time. They’ll behave for now but the other ones,” The man waved a hand at the boy. “Big nasty things, bombing the streets and frightening people.”

Danny frowned and the man kept going.

“Ghosts didn’t used to be a common thing. They were special, peeks at what used to be and now you see them all the time in town. They’re so strong you can see them clearly and they’ll look right at you and cause you pain.” Danny looked at the man who just stared straight ahead. “It’s only a matter of time before these ones start lobbing bombs at people killing us all.”

A hard lump formed in Danny’s throat. “They just-“

“They’re vile.” The man scowled at Danny. “They’re evil creatures- not human anymore and pulling their power from somewhere evil to stay where they don’t belong.”

Danny frowns at the man and it’s tempting to leave. Did other people believe this?

“You don’t think they belong in the human world?”

“Not anymore.” The man uncrossed his arms. “Ghosts can’t be here on the living plane with that much power. Ghosts are what’s leftover from human souls. What these are, they’re not leftover so much as they are repurposed.”

Danny turned toward the bench completely turning his back on the park and the spirits alike. The old man looked at him for the first time and brown eyes were clouded and practically looked through the boy. It was unsettling but the man seemed earnest.

He didn’t even want to ask but he had to know.

“Repurposed into what?”

“Into demons.”

Another chill struck through Danny and something in his core swirled at the word.

Demon…

The vitriol hatred was still there but it simmered under the calm words. “They’re so far from God that their souls turn into something unholy, untouched by light.” The man said solemnly. “They cause pain and suffering to the living and lie about everything. Agents of the devil come to bring hell on earth. All while wearing the face of the dead to make us drop our guard.”

Danny stepped back but didn’t run away. “You think the ghosts in town are all… demons?”

“I know they are.” The man rasped almost sadly. “The way they look, sound, they’re trying to mask what they really are. They’ll trick you into thinking they’re just kids and then drag you into hell themselves.” The man pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and coughed into it. Danny watched but the man didn’t continue without prompting which he couldn’t help but do.

“How do you know?” The thoughts began to swirl in his head. “How are you sure that they’re not just ghosts with powers?”

“What do they need powers for exactly? They’re too sturdy. Too strong.” The man tucked the cloth away. Danny peeked at it and half expected to see speckles of blood like a movie but it was clean. The man straightened his posture. “Why would you make a creature strong if you didn’t plan on using it for what power is used for? The strong ones are going fight for dominance to claim this land their own for the devil. The ones that look like us are here to convince us all it’s okay.”

Danny looked out over the ghosts scattered around the park. He wanted to tell the man no and that he was wrong, but what if there was a truth in what he said?

“I- Phantom won’t let that happen.”

The man scoffed.

“Phantom is the worst of them all.”

A pit formed in his stomach so quickly he felt sick.

“He didn’t do anything wrong.”

“It’s very existence is wrong.” The man scoffed and he began to stand up. Danny stepped backwards quickly but the man barely looked at him as he continued.

“Phantom… Ghost… It’s still an unholy creature. Damned to earth unable to pass into heaven and apparently kicked out of hell.”

Tears formed in Danny’s eyes. “That’s not true. He’s just a kid-“

“Even if it was a child once, it isn’t anymore. An undead creature of bizarre power fighting for dominance in a damned town while wearing the face of a child,” the man picked up his cane and shook his head. “If that isn’t a demon then Lord help us when it reveals its true face.”

Danny stepped back again onto the grass and further under the weeping willow. He stayed there firmly off the path as the man walked slowly toward the street.

A gloved hand rubbed at green eyes. He grit his teeth and called after the man’s retreating form. “You’re wrong. I’m gonna prove it!”

“Don’t be naïve, child.” The man waved a dismissive hand back at him. “Save your soul while you still can.” He turned around a corner and was out of sight.

Danny felt a rage in him that felt so cold and kicked off the ground launching himself into the air. He saw the man from above but what was there to say? What if the man talked more and that rage solidified and proved him right? What if Phantom was the worst of the ghosts, no, the demons that now inhabited the town.

It made sense. He wasn’t a ghost, he wasn’t human. Both species had told him he didn’t belong in their worlds. If he didn’t belong to either side, maybe the old man was right.

If he wanted answers, maybe he needed to look down.

[sleepy-writes-stuff]

DP X DC WRITING PROMPT #10

(#) = Notes at end of post

TW: mentions of human experimentation and blood

✦

The Sapphire Stone Sits Highest on the Throne

The GIW have done the unthinkable. They've captured Phantom, King of the Infinite Realms and ruler of all who reside within it. The government organization tortured and experimented on Danny so much and for so long that Danny was forced to recede into his core. While a ghost's core is relatively strong by itself --only another ghost of similar strength could shatter it-- it's also extremely vulnerable to misuse if left in the wrong hands.

The GIW use the King's core to ravage Amity Park --uncaring if human citizens got in their way-- as well as the Ghost Zone itself. The Ancients combine their efforts to search for the lost, little king, desperately trying to find Danny's core and take it back from the blood and ectoplasm stained hands of the agents. As a result of their dogged search, the Ancients bring worldwide destruction down upon the Earth in their hunt for every single white suit agent remaining, scurrying from one hiding place to another like rats in the walls of a dilapidated house.

One by one, almost every agent was hunted down and bound in unbreakable chains of ice, awaiting their trials for the atrocities they committed against the Infinite Realms and its King. The only one left is the leader of the organization itself, the one who holds Danny's core. The leader, however, is extremely slippery and has managed to evade capture for months now, going so far as to throw their own men to the wolves if it meant an easy escape with the jewel-blue heart of a scared, grieving, and injured child.

At this point though, the Ancients have caused so much destruction and natural disasters, that the Justice League has no choice but to step in. At first, the JL actively try to fight the Ancients, not fully understanding the situation but having little luck in actually hitting any of them regardless. It isn't until John Constantine runs onto the battlefield like a bat out of hell and skids to a stop right smack dab in the middle of the fight that things change. He's out of breath, his hair is in disarray, he smells heavily of smoke and alcohol, and that's definitely a still fresh coffee stain on his weather beaten trenchcoat along with red blood painting his knuckles.

Normally, one small human wouldn't be able to stop the wrath of the Ancients when they've set their sights on something. This instance, however, was very different. As Constantine raised his hands up towards the rampaging Ancients about to unleash their fury on the JL, one thing managed to capture every single one of their attention.

That being the weakly glowing, sapphire-like core held in one of Constantine's outstretched hands(1 & 2) and the faint, echoing cries of a child begging the Ancients to put an end to the carnage they've unleashed upon the world.

✦

Notes:

(1) Constantine gives little explanation on how he got his hands on Danny's core. Little do the JL know, it was just pure, dumb luck. He ran into the leader of the GIW right as the bastard was leaving a coffee shop. Coffee got spilled all over Constantine and, being slightly drunk off his ass, he decides to deck the person in the pretentious white suit and knocks him out in one shot. Constantine's about to walk away when he hears a child crying. He finds Danny's core in one of the downed guy's pockets and has a panic attack when he immediately realizes what it is. Danny explains what's going on and Constantine books it towards where he can sense a large amount of necrotic energy gathering. The rest is history.

(2) ALSO, sapphire is a pretty significant gem. According to the internet, the sapphire symbolizes wisdom, royalty, prophecy and divine favour. It's a symbol of power and strength, but also of kindness and wise judgement. Which just fits Danny PERFECTLY in this prompt, imo.

[omegasmileyface]

The Forest, the Trees, the Fire I: CATALYST

Chapter 6

we've crossed the halfway point! chapter 7 is also going up today since these are both late. Authors: @attackradish, @ectolemonades, me. Artist: @/crunchysart

For the full characters list, word count, content warning, and a directory to all the currently available chapters and related content, see the Table of Contents!

full summary: The world outside of Amity Park has learned about the existence of ghosts, and the time for first impressions has arrived. The delicate public consciousness could be disrupted by the slightest ripple. Danny Fenton is being ripped apart from all sides, and when he finally breaks, the ripples will be very big indeed.

warnings: similarities to real-life social justice issues, emotional breakdowns

words: 4621

AO3 link

first chapter

previous chapter

next chapter

===

January 4, 2007

Sam glanced around for what felt like the hundredth time, searching with dying hope for Tucker’s familiar red beret or Danny’s messy black hair. Resentment churned in her stomach. She wanted her two best friends to be on the front lines protesting with her, making their voices heard and fighting for ghost rights— for Danny’s rights.

She tried not to dwell on her feelings about any of that. They wouldn’t help her in the moment.

She led a crowd of Amity Park citizens. They were mostly Casper High students, but there were bubbles of adults who actually had the brain cells to think for themselves and joined them. The group was doing a march on city hall, to get the attention of their uneducated elected officials and let them know they couldn’t pass harmful legislation that easily. Her parents were going to be pissed when they found out she was not only involved, but in charge.

In Danny and Tucker’s absence, she was flanked by Dash and Kwan, and most of the Casper High football team and cheer squad had taken to the front of the crowd. Handmade signs were hoisted, with pro-ghost phrases like “Dying once wasn’t enough?” and “Fear the malevolent, nonsentient Ectophobe.”

Sam let just a little pride get to her head, proud that she could organize a group like this and proud that other people were willing to protest for the cause.

“Your two friends too scared to fight the good fight? Or does Fenton just think like his parents?” Dash remarked.

And the resentment returned. “Dash, none of that is relevant right now. Are you just here to make yourself feel like you’re better than other people, or are you actually here to help?” Sam snapped, narrowing her eyes at him.

Dash went quiet and stone-faced, holding his own sign just a bit higher.

Sam focused her energy back on what they were fighting for. She leaned behind Dash to tap Paulina on the shoulder, signaling it was time for her to put those cheer skills to use. Paulina nodded and clapped to get the attention of the other cheerleaders present.

They turned to face the other people in the crowd. “When we say ecto, you say rights!”

“Ecto!”

“Rights!”

“Ecto!”

“Rights!”

Sam couldn’t help but feel somewhat impressed with how in sync the cheerleaders were, and how well Paulina led them. Maybe she’d been wrong in her past judgements.

While the energy of the crowd began to ramp up, news vans started rolling up, cameras pointed at the demonstration for b-roll footage and others pointed at anchors getting a report ready for the evening news.

===

The crowd dispersed after a few hours. There had been impassioned speeches, so many chants Sam’s throat felt raw, and the occasional reaction from citizens whenever an official tried to quietly slip out of city hall.

Despite her physical exhaustion, Sam felt energized.

At one point a small group in support of the anti-ecto laws had formed, attempting to counter-protest. Sam avoided looking at them. She wasn’t sure if her parents were there, and she couldn’t bear the thought of them making a scene if she drew their attention. She hoped she just blended into the crowd for once, her parents too blinded by their bigotry to notice their daughter fighting for exactly what they were against.

Sam could only hope her side of the demonstrations had been effective. The crowd had been bigger than she thought it would be, and the fact that it wasn’t entirely comprised of her fellow students gave her hope for their cause. She knew she’d be glued to the news over the next few days, waiting to see some sort of reaction or response. Maybe they’d be able to at least push voting periods back.

A reporter tapped Sam on the shoulder. “Ma’am, my name is Rowan Collier with Channel 8 News, could we get an interview with you?”

Being referred to as “ma’am” made Sam shrivel up on the inside, but an interview couldn’t hurt, if only to help counter the misinformation being spread. “Yeah, sure.”

Rowan went through standard interview procedure, having Sam say and spell her name, asking where she was from and her role in the community. A cameraman had set up by the pair to film the exchange. “What motivated you to join this demonstration today?” Rowan pointed their microphone toward Sam for an answer.

“Harmful misinformation about ecto-entities is being spread every single day. Legislation is being proposed by uneducated individuals with opinions based in fearmongering. Ghosts are sentient and have emotions and needs, just like humans.”

The interview went back and forth like that, with Rowan asking for her thoughts on various ecto-legislation-related issues, and Sam giving the most concise answers she could muster after such a long day.

“Thank you so much for your time, Ms. Manson. Have a great rest of your day,” Rowan finally said.

“You too,” Sam waved.

Going home meant an immediate fight with her parents. It likely already got back to them that she was involved in the protest, and she could only imagine their rage when they saw her being interviewed on the news.

At least she knew her grandma would back her up.

===

Tucker rubbed his eyes under his glasses and sighed. His head was beginning to hurt from staring at small text on his computer screen for hours on end.

He’d spent his entire morning fact-checking the transcript from the new mayor’s press conference, and adding in his own commentary to point out fear-mongering language and just straight-up slander against ghosts. The minute he released the document, the forum exploded.

It had been an hour since he posted, and the comments and discussions hadn’t stopped. Despite his headache, he scrolled through to see what people were saying.

ect0rights: i knew this was a load of crap the entire time i was watching, mayor just sucked his own dick for an hour

>3 comments

invisobillfan: giw sux

XxghostgurlxX: Everything he said was so deeply dehumanizing to ghosts. I’ve met plenty of ghosts who were benign or even helpful, and our town hero is a ghost! It’s ridiculous to lump an entire group together like that, and imply that they’re all dangerous.

>12 comments

gardening4life: u r all  delusional children and ur parents need to raise u better

>38 comments

Tucker couldn’t help but chuckle at the last post. He didn’t even need to expand the thread to know whoever “gardening4life” was got a verbal – or would it be textual? – beatdown.

He came across a few posts of users calling for more protests. The first few had gone well. No violence had broken out, and they’d been pretty organized for being planned completely by word of mouth.

He knew planning a protest on a public forum was a bad idea, though, and with tensions rising demonstrations were becoming riskier. What happened when people had more time to think up countermeasures? What if someone got violent?

Tucker decided to take a break from the forum posts before every horrible scenario could manifest in his brain. He opened up the program he’d been working on the past few days. It still needed tweaking, but the basics were there: a secure communication system he could share with fellow ecto-rights activists.

He’d managed to get Sam to help with tests, and so far everything worked. All he needed to implement now was the secure login system and it could go live.

His plan for login protection was more complicated than just a password. First, users would have to use their personal credentials, then answer some security questions based on facts about ghosts, and finally enter a temporary universal passcode to get into the system.

If the wrong person got a hold of the program, he figured the security questions would be a nice extra defense. No one who supported anti-ecto laws knew enough about ghosts to give basic facts about how they work, and there was too much misinformation on the internet for them to just search up the answer. And even if they did get past that, they’d still have to work around the universal passcode somehow.

Tucker knew there would be cracks no matter what, but at least they’d be able to keep things private for a while.

A knock at his bedroom door broke through his skull and tenderized his brain. He folded his arms on his desk with a groan and laid his head down. “Yeah?” he called out.

Tucker’s mom opened the door. “Are you okay, honey?”

“Yeah, just a headache.”

“Well, maybe you should take a real break from the computer.” She shook her head.

“Mom,” Tucker whined.

“Anyway, Sam’s on the phone for you,” she said. She set the landline on his desk and slipped out of the room, closing the door halfway.

Tucker picked up the phone. “Hey, Sam."

“Why weren’t you answering your cell?"

“I think it’s dead. Sorry, I’ve been working all day.”

“Well, I finally caught Danny and roped him into hanging out tomorrow. Apparently his parents are gonna be out, so we can hang at his. I expect to see you there,” Sam said.

Tucker breathed out a quiet laugh at the way she demanded his presence. “Okay, I’ll be there. Hey, I’ve almost got that chat system done.”

“Does that mean you’ll finally start coming to the protests?”

“Hey," Tucker said, "I’ve really gotta go now, my head is pounding. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

They said their goodbyes, and he made a little wish in his head that she wouldn't worry too much about the way he avoided the subject.

===

Danny picked at a loose thread in his comforter. When had spending time with Sam and Tucker become so uncomfortable?

He couldn’t meet his friends’ gazes. Being with them, in his bedroom, felt like it solidified the reality of him constantly being gone. A twinge of guilt ran through him, and he resisted the urge to physically shake it away. He had to make the choices that were best for him; he had an important role to fulfill now.

“Danny, I can’t believe you’ve missed out. The protests have been going really well,” Sam spoke up. “We’ve got a lot of support.”

“Really?” Danny wasn’t sure if he was truly interested or not.

“We set up a private communication system, so the protests can be planned without any dangerous interference,” Tucker added on.

“I was really hoping with that safeguard in place you’d both start showing up to them. It’s really important to me to have you both there, you’re my best friends. And just think— Danny Fenton, son of ghost hunters, helping lead the resistance!” There was a fire in Sam’s eyes.

Danny swallowed the bile rising in his throat. Danny Fenton. Son of ghost hunters. He tried not to be angry at Sam for saying it— it was just a fact about him. She didn’t know it made him think of all the fights with his parents recently, about being coronated and knowing his parents would absolutely despise who he truly was.

“Dude, you okay? What’s been up with you lately? You’ve been completely MIA, and now you’re spacing out.” Tucker was clearly trying to avoid the current topic, and Danny couldn’t blame him, but putting the spotlight on him really wasn’t helping.

Danny took a deep breath and forced his voice to be steady. “I’m just trying to make the safest decisions for myself. I can’t be here, just sitting around and waiting for the Guys in White to figure me out. You guys… you saw what happened with Vlad.”

“So you disappear when you could be helping? You’re literally the town hero!” Sam cried.

“But most of the town doesn’t seem to see me as that, do they? I’m a ghost, an ectoplasmic abomination that doesn’t deserve to have basic rights despite saving their lives on a near-daily basis. And what if the GIW made the connection? Danny Fenton, Danny Phantom, I wasn’t exactly the smartest 14-year-old when I came up with that name, thinking I could keep my identity a secret. What if they brought some kind of ectoenergy detector to a protest? I’d be outed immediately, probably hauled off to be their next experiment. I’m glad you can take action, but it isn’t safe for me.” It all rushed out before Danny could force it down. He hated how harsh it sounded, but it felt like a physical release of pressure as it came out of his system.

Sam had an unreadable expression on her face. Tucker sat stiff as a board, his entire body tense and his gaze glued on the poster above Danny’s bed to avoid eye contact. The silence grew, and the tension didn't lessen.

“At least I can count on Tucker,” Sam spat.

“I’m more than happy to keep helping behind the scenes,” Tucker said cautiously.

This only irritated Sam more. She stood from Danny’s desk chair abruptly, sending it into a spin. “I have to get going. Got a lot to do between this and homework. Nice to finally see you again, Danny." There was no warmth in her voice as she stormed out of the room.

The front door slammed downstairs.

“I, uh, need to get going too,” Tucker said. “I’m not really sure what you’re not telling us right now, just… be careful, and maybe be around a little more, okay?” Tucker sounded like he pitied Danny more than anything, and he left with an unyielding gentleness.

That had not gone at all as Danny hoped it would.

===

The phone was ringing before Valerie had a chance to second-guess her decision.

“Val?”

She found herself speechless when she heard a voice on the other end that wasn’t a voicemail message.

“Hello?”

“Danny! Hey, I was surprised you answered,” Valerie said.

“Uh, yeah, sorry, things have been weird lately,” Danny said. He sounded exhausted. Maybe she woke him up from a nap or something.

Valerie had no idea what to say. She didn’t call with any expectation he’d answer, she’d acted on an impulse and now she had to do her best to make this worth it.

She wanted to ask so many questions about what was going on with him. It was an easy distraction from her own feelings, the mess of anxiety and anger and heartbreak and distrust swirling in her head after recent events.

“How’s it been going?” Danny asked after she had been silent for an uncomfortably long time.

“Oh, you know, weird.” She let out a nervous laugh. “Man, you heard about that stuff with Mayor Masters, right? It’s crazy, I mean, a ghost was our mayor!”

That statement didn’t really begin to cover her feelings about the situation. And, God, why was that the first thing she brought up? She knew Danny’s family had been close with Vlad, it was probably a sore spot and she just threw it in his face.

“Oh, yeah. That whole thing was really crazy. I mean, who could have guessed?” Danny responded. His voice had a cold edge to it. Shit, she was already completely screwing this up.

“How have you been? No one’s heard from you in a while.” Nothing she said felt right coming out of her mouth. She didn’t know what she wanted to hear from him, but at that point, she’d take anything just to keep him talking a little longer and maybe get him to open up.

“Things have been tense at home. I’ve just been dealing with things in my own way. Don’t worry, I’m not running off with the circus or anything.” Danny’s attempt at sarcastic humor fell flat. Valerie tried to convince herself it was just because they were talking on the phone, but there was only so much she could do to ignore the rising irritation peeking into Danny’s voice.

“Yeah, just, people have been worried, okay? I’ve been worried. The GIW’s got this chokehold on Amity Park right now, and it’s all weird and I thought for a minute maybe something had happened to you,” Valerie said. She heard a sharp intake of breath from the other end.

“Why would you think something happened to me?” Danny asked.

Valerie furrowed her eyebrows. Did he think she was implying something, or was he implying something she needed to pick up on? “I just hadn’t heard from you. I mean, a while back your parents contacted me, of all people, because Sam and Tucker didn’t even know where you were. Should I be concerned about something? Do you want to talk about anything?”

“No. Sorry, Valerie, I gotta go. Uh, thanks for calling,” Danny said.

“Wait—”

The line went dead. Valerie groaned. Where had she gone so wrong in the span of just a few minutes? Maybe she shouldn’t take it personally. He seemed to be shutting everyone out, it wasn’t like she’d be some special case.

But maybe she thought it’d be different, a change from the people who were always around him and knew the intimate details of his life. She could offer him a space to open up and get a different perspective. She yearned for that brief period when they’d been close, their friendship that had fizzled out.

===

Danny threw his only good pair of headphones on the floor. Crunch! There they went! They had been a birthday gift from Sam and were the only way he ever let himself listen to music anymore, but now they were gone!

He was experimenting with small permanences. If he ruined all his friendships, they would be gone forever, if he let all his secrets go, they would be open forever, if he screwed up this whole teenage monarch thing everyone would be fucked forever, so he'd better get used to it on an expensive piece of plastic and wire first.

Everybody was so fucking worried about him that even when he just wanted to exist, to chill as a human before that option was off the table forever, he couldn't get a break!

Nobody would give him a fucking break!

He needed less on his plate.

He'd been trying to make use of those prioritizing skills that were being drilled into his head. He was already keeping up with his family as little as possible. School was an easy loss, he was never going to get his grades back up anyway, and it wasn't much to lose. He didn't need a diploma, it would just make life easier.

But that wasn't enough, so Danny had to drop something else, too. Not even on purpose, he had already started pushing his friends away. His hope was that if he didn't actively start any fights, the friendship wouldn't deteriorate too much while he was busy. He could pick it back up once all the ghost legislation shit cleared up. If he did something drastic and new, like finally telling them about the Ghost King thing after putting it off for forever, or telling them he couldn't spend time with them, the friendship might destabilize. It could have collapsed by the time he was ready to give himself to his friends again.

So, for now, Tucker and Sam were just going to have to get by without him. They would understand.

It had taken half a day of sitting in his room in silence to come to terms with the fact that he needed to put patrols away for now too. It wasn't like many ghosts were coming into town anymore with such a hostile environment, and he couldn't do anything about the GIW being weird, so patrolling wasn't even helping anything anymore. Really, he just did it to see Amity. It was the only bit of peace he had in the day.

But in all honesty, it only put him at risk, and it took up so much time. It hurt way worse than he expected, the thought of not going out to look over the town. Sue him for being nostalgic! He grew up there. When he looked around, he got to see that some things weren't drastically different.

Or, at least, that's what he was telling himself.

He needed something else to break.

Crash! His mug that said ground control to major Dan. They had gotten that at a rest stop when he was 6, and it never got used for drinks. And now it never would be!

Did he even have any other reasons to stay here? Every time someone knocked on his door, he felt his heart stop for a moment when a little voice in his head said it was a raid coming to take him off to some experimentation facility. He avoided public buildings, the Internet, and every authority figure he knew because he figured he'd do something wrong and they'd put it together. They'd find him out like they found Vlad, and Danny wouldn't have the same chance to run away.

Everybody wanted him to do something. Everybody wanted him to act. But every action he could think of would get his home life compromised. Maybe… he could put all of that on hold?

Fuck it. Everybody needed something from him right now, but the ghosts needed it the most. They weren't doing anything to defend themselves, and the humans weren't slowing. It sucked, it sucked so bad that he wasn't able to finish growing up before he had to do all this King shit, but nobody else was doing it. It was his best shot at helping meaningfully.

He was the only person who could do it, so it was his responsibility. Again.

Sure! He could dedicate himself to that! The more help he did now, the less time everybody spent in this mess. So that was it. Danny was going to make using politics to help ghosts his sole focus. He didn't need any of this other shit for that.

So he took off. He shoved as many irreplaceable keepsakes as he could fit into a pocket dimension, just in case somebody tore through his room. Then he grabbed an armful of his favorite clothes, tossed them through the Portal, and looked around. 

Funny, besides a few more computers and real photos of ghosts, the lab looked just like it did when he was a kid. Nothing else in his life did.

Whatever. He had to get out of here before he thought about it for too long.

Danny jumped through the portal. He took all of the rage he'd been ignoring and channeled it into his fingers. When he swiped his hand through the portal, the energy crumpled under his claws like paper, and the portal was no more.

He didn't have to beat up the loose metal frame, but it was nice to get to break something and not regret it.

"How's that for permanence?"

His voice echoed through the green void for longer than it should have.

Guess it was time to move into that cold stone castle. 

===

It should come as no surprise that we are not satisfied. The boy King is a fool. He will continue to lose loyal ghosts, and before anything significant has even been done, he will seal us off from the living realm once again, where they can continue, undisturbed, to make plans to reach us again with their weapons of mass destruction.

He has shied away from an easy battle, from mercifully proving our superiority to the living humans in one quick movement. We would not have to fear what they might do in the coming years, and they would not have to fear us. There would be a few deaths, on their side surely and perhaps on ours, but our boundaries would be established and they would not attempt to intrude any longer.

But he has ties to the living humans, in both his core and his flesh. He is living, and it makes him unwilling to make the hard decisions. The Phantom is both a child and divided. He has barred us from acting, and in doing so he has set us all up for failure.

No, we are not satisfied at all.

So we have decided to act regardless. The boy King has told us not to, and asked to be left alone, but he refuses to think about us as soon as we have left his sight. In his weakness, he has not taken any measures to ensure that we do not act without permission. Perhaps he expects us to be bound to some sort of "duty" to him, but we are no strangers to taking up our own law when we are not satisfied with the law we are given. Otherwise, we would not be enforcers. We would not be creatures of the law.

We simply have to do our work without his knowledge, or leave him too distracted to worry about our involvement. If he knew about our treason, he would surely destroy us, or come close to doing so. So we will use stealth. Discretion.

This is easy. We only have to play with cause and effect.

So, we send word to the living humans' force, the Garrison Irving Walker Commission. Almost honestly, we inform them that we seek to help their effort. They will be given the information and tools to raid the library sector near the wastes, where they may gain information on their enemy. They will have to meet with us, but they may do so with as many scientific protections as they would like to take.

If the boy King has at all been useful to us, it is in convincing the living humans that their guards against us are foolproof.

They destroy our notices a few times, fearful of the intrusion of their enemy. We continue to reach out, insisting that our offer is genuine. Almost honestly, we tell them that there are ghosts we disagree with, enemies of ours, who would benefit from their ignorance.

They meet with us, in a remote location close to their Great Lakes. They pack the area with wards and shields, so that approach is impossible for us and just barely viable for our gifts, and they pack themselves with weapons. They are wise to expect us to break their trust, although they do not know how useless their defenses would be.

We send three eyes. These eyes speak to the Commission representatives. We give them a live map of the area with several safe routes marked out, a portal ring which they can use to summon only one portal, but with six uses (they will want to test it, so just two uses would not be sufficient), eight Amulets of Dark-Score so they will move about undetected, and a vial of blood blossom gas— protected, of course— to incapacitate any ghosts they will find on their way.

These items are so rare, so hard to come by in these numbers. This is how much it takes to prepare a group of humans for a raid on an unprotected part of the Infinite Realms.

But they will learn, and they will temporarily become a more significant threat to us. And the Phantom will finally need to face them head-on.

The commission representatives, before checking our gifts for safety, disincorporate the three eyes. We anticipated this, of course, and it does not matter to us. They are lucky we are such patient ghosts. Others might not have hesitated to retaliate.

We need no retaliation. They will face their ends in time. They plan their expedition now, and their glory will be short-lived.

We will soon have our power back.

[amity-park-news]

Ghost rights protest taking place Sunday!

Posters displaying information for a ghost rights protest have been seen throughout Amity Park. It is uncertain who has planned this protest or who made the posters but one thing is certain; the protest will take place this Sunday in front of the town hall and many citizens are planning on attending.

After Fentonworks and the Ghost Investigation Ward (GIW) stated ghosts were less than human and therefore should not get the same rights during the Ectology conference last week, many people were enraged at the idea that ghosts were nothing more than animals, much less dead animals at that. Both Fentonworks and the GIW have been receiving massive complaints from Amity citizens, many referencing their own experiences with ghost though most seem to be defending local hero Danny Phantom. Mayor Masters has stated that this protest will do nothing to change his stance on ghosts or their rights in Amity Park but will only cause trouble.

"Ghosts are the dead. Giving them rights is like giving a corpse the right to vote."

Local ghost experts, the Fentons, have also said that the town's judgement is being clouded by their love of the Phantom.

"Ghosts are dangerous! It's in their nature to fight and cause chaos! You just have to look at how much money the town is spending on repairs to know that. This protest is ridiculous! Why in the world should ghosts get rights?"

After questioning those who have openly said they will be attending the protest, we have found that most aren't sure what rights ghosts should even have. Some think they should be treated as equals but when asked if a ghost should be allowed to buy a house or get a job they said no. Some believe they should have the right to not be hunted but didn't deny that ghosts such as Skulker and Technus were dangerous and should be stopped. Some of the younger protesters didn't think ghosts should be tested on, likening it to torture rather than science.

The Fentons worry that this "protest" is a planned attack by ghosts. An easy way to gather well meaning humans and hurt them.

"Maybe even the ghost kid. It's exactly the kind of thing it would do. Get people together and 'protect' them when something inevitably goes wrong."

If you would like to give your views on this protest then please send us your opinions through the "ask our experts" link. We would be more than happy to quell any issues or worries you may have about this protest.

[bibliophilea]

The End - Ch. 1

Happy Holiday Truce, @mystyrust! Sorry to make you wait - I wanted to do something big, but I forgot to take into account two things: I am a slow writer, and this story became too big to handle as a oneshot. I do have big ideas for where I want this story to go, but we'll see how the story builds itself as I write! Happy Holidays!

If elements of this story seem familiar, that’s because they are! This is based on @lexosaurus‘s tags on @dannys-phucking-dead‘s post! I hope you enjoy!

ffn | ao3

>1< 2 3 4 ...

"Listen. I've met a lot of great asteroids. Really fantastic asteroids. And they've all told me themselves — they said that I was a great president. All of them said that — all one hundred thousand asteroids. I was there."

The camera switches to Tiffany Snow, sitting at the anchor desk.

"This is what President Drumpf had to say yesterday regarding NASA's claims that an unforeseen asteroid is approximately 21 days from hitting the Earth, creating an extinction-level event on par with what took out the dinosaurs," Snow states with a cheerful smile. "Polls suggest that approximately 48.2% of the population believe NASA's claims to be a hoax; 29.5% believe it's the end of the world; and 22.3% is undecided. Lance, can you tell us a bit about Amity Park's response to NASA's claims?"

The camera switches to a street view outside of Amity Park's capitol building. People crowd the streets, many of them yelling and holding signs. Some signs read "THE END IS NIGH". Others say "ASTEROID SHMASTEROID". A few say "DEFUND NASA". One sign says "[citation needed]".

"Certainly, Tiffany," Lance Thunder replies, nearly shouting over the crowd. "As you can see here, tensions are high in Amity Park. Citizens gather to make their voices heard amidst NASA's claims of doom and gloom. Hey, Bob, what do you think of NASA's statement?"

Thunder turns to a middle aged man beside him wearing a bright red cap. The man bends to put his face by the microphone Thunder is brandishing.

"It's fake news, is what it is! I mean, come on! How does a freaking asteroid come out of nowhere? It's a China conspiracy, I tell you!"

Bob nods, and Thunder takes back the microphone. "Well, you heard it here, folks. Amity Park's citizens think NASA's claims are a ho—"

"THE END IS NIGH!"

A woman wearing a sign with the same message butts in, snatching the microphone from Thunder.

"The Disasteroid cometh for us all! Soon it will be Judgement Day and all of you Non Believers will be found Wanting!"

Thunder squawks. "Hey! That is APN property! Give that back!"

The camera turns to focus on Thunder and the woman as they fight over the microphone, their squabbling barely audible over the feedback. Then the feed cuts back to Tiffany Snow.

"Wow Lance, looks like no one can break Amity Park's spirit," Snow says with a grin. "In other news, Congress has voted to defund NASA—"

The TV clicks off.

Danny carefully puts down the remote before he allows himself to shake. His fists clench, and he hides them under folded arms, lest they be seen bursting into ectoplasmic flame. His face feels taut, teeth clenched, eyes abnormally dry. Toxic green edges his vision, and he clamps his eyes shut, lest they be seen glowing green with his anger.

And oh, he is angry.

NASA is a world leader in space aviation and exploration, and Congress is defunding them. And for what? Because they told the truth? Because there's a humongous asteroid about to hit the Earth? They should be funneling emergency money towards NASA, not taking money away! The world needs NASA, now more than ever! Danny has seen the images NASA shared — the images the media doesn't dare share, lest the wrath of one President Drumpf befall them. He doesn't know how everyone missed it — it's huge and it's glowing green and no stars glow green like that — but now that everyone knows about it, there should be some sort of plan to stop it, right? Wrong! The president says it's fake news, and Congress follows suit, and the biggest space programs in the world can't agree on what to do about it when half the world doesn't even think it's real and oh god we're gonna die like actually 100% die and it's not ghosts it's not Pariah Dark it's a big fucking SPACE ROCK that's going to do us in for good and there'll be no more habitable Earth and no more Ghost Zone and we're all going to DIE—

A hand touches Danny's knee, and he gasps, eyes flying open, cringing away from the contact.

Through the green haze in his vision he sees bright orange and immediately shuts his eyes again. They can't see, can't see him freak out, can't see his powers freak out with him—

The hand touches his knee again, and he freezes at the touch, body tense, teeth clenched, eyes shut tight. Another hand touches his arm and he takes in a breath, shuddering as the hand slowly moves to his shoulder, and then to his back, rubbing large, soothing circles. Danny tries to time his breathing to the circles, like Jazz had taught him to, and slowly the blood rushing in his ears (when had that happened?) quiets to a dull roar.

"There we go Danny, see, just breathe. You're okay. You're at home, and Mom and Dad are out, and you don't have to hide."

Danny uncurls slightly at the sound of his sister's voice. He opens his eyes a crack — just enough to see past the green haze — and really looks this time. The orange isn't the same shade as his dad's jumpsuit — it's a lighter, more natural color, and it surrounds a face with concerned, green eyes. Jazz. Jazz is here, and she has her hand on his knee, and she's rubbing circles into his back, and he's kind of sort of getting the hang of breathing with the rhythm of those circles. He leans into her, and she bundles him into a hug, still rubbing circles into his back.

The front door opens, and Danny and Jazz both freeze. Jazz said Mom and Dad are out, but what if they're back? They can't see him like this, they'll find out!

Danny has half a mind to just turn invisible when their voices hit his ears.

"Man, dude, did you see what Congress did to NASA? That's so unfair!"

"It's totally unfair! They're just telling the truth! This whole administration is the absolute worst!"

Tucker. Sam. Danny relaxes slightly at their voices, but he doesn't turn around — doesn't want them to see him like this, either.

But it's too late.

"Woah, dude, you okay?"

"Danny!"

He hears them rush over to him — feels their worry and the warmth of their bodies as they get close — and tenses up again. He should be better than this, stronger than this! He shouldn't be freaking out about some dumb news report.

Not just a dumb news report, his brain helpfully supplies. We're all going to die. And there's nothing you can do about it.

All of a sudden, Jazz's embrace feels too tight. To constraining. Trapping him where he is.

He slips intangible and flees from Jazz, flees from his friends — flees upwards, up through the ceiling and through the roof and through the Ops Center, flees until there's no more house to flee from. He lands hard on the roof of the Ops Center, scraping his knees but it doesn't matter, hands scorching the metal but who cares, it's just the end of the world—

He pulls his knees to his chest and buries his head in them, his face screwing as he tries to get a hold of himself, tries to rein himself in, it's just the end of the world, just the end of Mom and Dad and Jazz and Sam and Tucker and school and movies and parks and people and everything and everyone he'd ever tried to protect—

"Bite this."

Danny feels something cool touch his lips, and he bites down — then coughs and spits as bitter rind and sour citrus burst in his mouth.

He looks up to see Tucker triumphantly brandishing a whole lemon with a chunk bitten out of it. Sam and Jazz stand to either side of him, varying levels of worry and amusement fighting for dominance in their faces. Danny spits again, and stares at the bits of rind and lemon pulp that vacate his mouth.

"What the hell?"

"Told you it'd work!" Tucker crows.

"A lemon?" Danny splutters.

"It's an... unorthodox grounding technique," Jazz responds, "and it normally isn't administered like that—"

"Point is, it works," Sam interjects. "How're you feeling?"

Danny stares at the three of them for a moment. Then he sighs and chuckles darkly. "The worlds going to end because too many people don't believe NASA about an asteroid hurtling towards Earth, and Tucker made me bite into a lemon. How am I supposed to feel?"

He sighs again, long, hard, and shuddering, and he lets himself fall backwards onto the warm metal of the Ops Center roof. Jazz lies down across from him, and Sam and Tucker lie to either side of him, all their heads nearly touching. The sky above them is bright blue, clear of clouds. Birds flit across Danny's vision, twittering as they chase each other before flying off to who knows where. Does it even matter? They'll all be dead in a few weeks.

"I don't want to die again."

The words slip from his mouth, and he feels his breath hitch, watches as his vision goes blurry. His hands begin to clench into fists — but then Sam and Tucker take his hands, massaging the tension from his fingers and palms, and Jazz runs her hand through his hair like she used to do when they were kids and he'd had a nightmare, and something in him breaks.

A sob wrenches itself from his throat, and he curls in on himself. His sister and friends move to hold him close, and he can't help but lean into their touch. They hold him as his eyes glow green, as his hands fist into the metal of the roof, as his sobs take on a ghostly tinge, nearly wailing his grief and his anger and his fear into the sky. He shudders as he cries, and feels as they shudder with him — feels as Sam and Tucker push their faces into his shirt, and as Jazz buries her face in his hair — feels as his shirt and his head where their faces lie become damp.

Crying. They're crying.

And it's his fault.

A wave of guilt washes over him, and he wants to pull away again, wants to force himself to stop crying, to be strong for them. But their grips on him tighten, and they speak to him, words warped by their own tears. "Just let it out," Tucker mutters into his back. "It's okay to cry," Sam whispers into his shoulder. "You don't have to hide," Jazz repeats into his hair.

But beneath their words, beneath their tight hold on him and the way they push their faces against him is a hidden plea: "Stay," they say.

Please stay.

So Danny stays.

Danny stays, and they cry together, and the sun shines down upon them from the clear blue sky.

*~*~*

Danny doesn't know how long it's been. Only that he's no longer crying, and that his friends and sister are no longer crying. They've melted into a cuddle pile of four, with Danny at the center, and the sun beats down on them from a different angle than before. Danny has wound up with his head in Jazz's lap, and she's playing with his hair. Sam and Tucker are on top of him, still holding his hands. Their weight is comforting.

Danny is exhausted. He just wants to fall asleep and deal with everything later. Crying in front of your friends and sister will do that, his brain helpfully supplies. So will the end of the world.

He sighs heavily and moves to sit up. Sam and Tucker get off him, still holding his hands, and Jazz helps him up, moving from playing with his hair to rubbing circles on his back. He smiles faintly at all of them.

"Thanks, guys," he whispers hoarsely. He really does have the best friends and best sister in the world.

Too bad they're all going to die in three weeks.

He frowns and sighs again, too tired to cry.

"It's heavy stuff, huh," Jazz says gently. Danny looks back at her, an eyebrow raised. She continues. "The thought of everything ending like that — it's really hard to think about. Hell, I'm having trouble processing it." She smiles gently at him. "It's okay to be scared and angry, and it's okay to be scared and angry in front of us. You don't have to hide."

"Okay, okay, I get it," Danny mutters. "No more running away."

"Good," Sam remarks. "Now, what are we going to do about everything?"

"What do you mean?" Danny asks.

"You know. The asteroid?" Sam raises an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah. That." Danny frowns down at the roof of the Ops Center. The metal is warped and singed where his hands had dug into it. "What are we supposed to do about that?" He looks back up at Sam. Her eyes bear into his, and her grip on his hand tightens.

"Look, I know this is hard for you. It's hard for me, too. But we can't just sit here and do nothing."

Danny frowns at her. He opens his mouth to respond, but Tucker gets there first.

"Look, I know we need to have this conversation, I really do. But can we have it inside? The metal's starting to get really hot." Tucker stands up, rubbing his free hand on his jeans from touching the roof.

Danny sighs and stands up, stretching the kinks from his back. Sam and Jazz stand up with him.

"On it," Danny says. "Everyone hold tight."

He feels Sam's and Tucker's grips tighten on his hands, and he feels Jazz grab his shoulder. With a poke at his core, he tugs them all intangible, slipping through the roof to the refreshingly cool interior of the Ops Center. He lets go of intangibility and lets gravity embrace them slowly, gently depositing them all on the floor of the Ops Center. Then he lets go of his friends' hands and steps forwards, turning so he's facing the three of them.

"So, what are we supposed to do, huh? Half the world thinks the asteroid's a hoax, and the other half either doesn't have the money to do anything, or is stuck in petty arguments about what to do and who's to blame and all that shit." Danny crosses his arms and frowns.

"Dude, you're the Ghost King," Tucker's quick to reply. "Doesn't that mean you can, like, do anything?"

Danny facepalms. "Oh my god, Tucker, I'm not the Ghost King. I told the Observants I don't want any part of it. And besides, even if I were, who's going to listen to me? Klemper? The Box Ghost? I'm sure they can convince the world to get its shit together!"

"Hey!" Sam interjects. "You can't just focus on what we can't do. We need to focus on what we can do, as a team."

"Oh, and what can we do, Sam? We're way out of our depth here! The four of us can't stop the asteroid from hitting Earth!"

"You're right, Danny," Jazz says. Sam and Tucker gape at her.

"But dude—"

"You can't just—"

"Hey, let me speak!" Jazz waits until Sam and Tucker close their mouths — Tucker with a perplexed look on his face, Sam with an expectant frown.

"We are out of our depth," Jazz states. "We don't have the resources or political pull here on Earth or in the Ghost Zone to make a significant difference." She pauses. "But we know someone who does."

It takes a moment, but Sam gets it first.

"Oh, ew, we are not asking him for help!"

"Wait." Tucker says. "Asking who for—" horror dawns on his face. "Oh, no. No no no. We can't! Why would you even think of that?"

"Think of what?" Danny asks, a little annoyed that he doesn't get it.

"Asking Vlad," Sam, Tucker, and Jazz reply.

"Oh, ew!" Danny says automatically.

Jazz rolls her eyes. "It's not like I want to talk to him either! I just think given the circumstances, we don't have much choice."

"There's always a choice, Jazz," Sam retorts. "He'll probably try and force Danny to stay with him in exchange for his help."

"Yeah, Jazz," Tucker adds. "He's a slimeball. Who knows how he'll try to play this to his advantage."

"But—"

"I think Jazz is right," Danny says.

Sam, Tucker, and Jazz stare at Danny, flabbergasted. Danny blushes.

"Well, it's like Jazz said — I don't want to, but I don't think we have a choice. We need his help. And besides," he says with a smirk, "the man is way too narcissistic. He doesn't want to die because half the world doesn't believe what's right in front of their faces."

"And we can use that to our advantage," Jazz adds. "He knows he'll need help with whatever scheme he's plotting, and there isn't enough time for him to be picky."

"So, what? We go to him for help, and threaten to walk if he tries to pull anything?" Sam raises an eyebrow.

"Exactly." Jazz and Danny grin at each other.

Tucker sighs and pulls out his PDA. "Alright, fine. One meeting with one seriously messed up frootloop coming right up."

Danny stares. "Dude, what are you doing?"

Tucker looks up. "Um, scheduling a meeting with our evil mayor?"

Sam shakes her head. "He's probably booked. We'll have better luck if we just show up."

Jazz nods. "He's probably expecting us anyways."

Tucker sighs and puts away his PDA. "Alright, fine. But can we take a moment to clean up? I don't know about you guys, but my face is crusty."

Danny looks at his friends and sister. Their hair is a mess, and their eyes are still rimmed red. Sam's mascara has dried after running down her face, and Tucker's glasses and Jazz's headband are askew. Danny figures he doesn't look much better.

He nods. "Alright. But after that, we have a meeting with one seriously messed up frootloop!"

[darks-ink]

For the potential sequel thing: So the first thing I thought of was Grounded, not gonna lie. And honestly yeah? I really liked it, it was such a fun idea and path to go down. I'd totally love to see more of that universe. I also loved going back and forth over various ideas of what the heck was happening while I read it, and then kinda just going /I goddamn knew it/ when all was revealed. It was such a fun time adkjhkjf so maybe that one if you ever have any more ideas for it!

Grounded would be a fun one to continue, yeah! I’ll admit that when I was running through one-shots to continue, Grounded was definitely one of my top picks well. Would be an interesting universe to explore further, that’s for sure.

A sequel could definitely focus on the effects of Grounded. Maybe skip the reveals (or maybe do write the bit between Valerie and her dad, because that could hurt so good), and then focus on her trying to juggle everything new in her life? Attempt to deal with everything that comes with being half-ghost? Having to play the same masked game as Danny, now, and realizing how hard that masquerade is? The instant judgement of the Amity Park citizens, when the Red Huntress is suddenly no longer the Red Huntress, is suddenly a ghost? After all, so many only trusted her because she, at least, was human.

Oh yeah, that could be real good.