Archive of Our Own

The sun shone lazy rays of light onto the painted, chalky sidewalks of Amity Park Elementary. The sidewalks were adorned with images of green blog ghosts and, of course, hopscotch and other doodles that children could think up in their minds. There were even a few scribbled Phantom logos, to which one Danny Fenton grinned wide as he walked down the sidewalks toward the front entrance of the school. The school itself seemed to glow in the morning light, reflecting rays off its white, pristine exterior. 

“They’ve certainly remodeled the place nicely,” the half ghost said to himself. 

It was true that Amity Park Elementary had been known for having a few ghost attacks against it due to its close proximity to Casper High. Wild ghost animals who had no sense of their surroundings had managed to crash into the one side wing of the school, luckily on a weekend when no students or faculty were there. Because of this, the school had finally been prompted to undergo a capital construction project. 

The building now shone bright and sleek. It had a very welcoming exterior, due to the extra juvenile art murals plastered on the front of the building. It all looked very modern and inviting, a clear contrast to what Danny remembered the school looking like when he attended. 

The colored sidewalks were the cherry on top to the entire grand entrance. Danny felt his heart pound with anticipation and happiness as he made his way to the large front entrance. He grasped the metal handles and pulled the heavy door open. 

Immediately he was bombarded with the sound of giggling children. Their high pitched squeals danced through the front corridor and Danny looked around to see a group of little kids standing in a line. Well… line-ish. They were children, after all. Children never could stand correctly in a nice line. 

“Class! Quiet down!” He heard a woman's voice yell kindly over the loud mixture of high pitched voices. “If you form a line, we may head out for recess!” 

“RECESS!” 

And at this, the already slightly out of line line became even more out of line. One child began jumping up and down, another spinning in circles. Two girls could be seen holding together both hands and squealing at each other.

Danny watched the display, a slight frown forming on his face. Now don’t get him wrong, the sight of happy children could make anyone be infected with joyful feelings of their own. But still, deep inside his chest a feeling of unease spread.

What was he getting himself into…

“There will be no recess if we can’t form a line and quiet our voices,” the teacher instructed with a sense of authority ringing through her voice. “Micah, get off the floor. Amanda, you’re going to make yourself dizzy. Roan, indoor voices please, no screaming.” 

That sounded vaguely familiar. The young man watched curiously as the teacher straightened out all her students and managed to form the children into a line; silence filled the hallways then. 

Ah, that was it. Danny smiled lightly as he remembered what the scene in front of him reminded him of. He had just demanded the same authority over his royal court just yesterday, even using the same requests for his advisors to get off the floor! and no screaming! 

Apparently there is little difference between a room of ghostly royal advisors and a group of kindergarteners. 

Turning away from the group of kids and their teacher, Danny made his way to the main office. Thankfully it was only a few steps away and labeled with large gold letters above the doorway noting that he was entering the correct room. Wouldn’t want to walk into the wrong room and make a fool of himself on his first day…

“Well I’ll be! Is that Daniel Fenton walking into my office?” 

Danny smiled brightly as he recognized the older lady sitting behind the front desk. She had white permed hair and wore thick rimmed glasses. Her voice was still as soft and sweet as he remembered it being back when he was in fourth grade. 

“Mrs. Farnsworth! It’s so good to see you again!” 

“And you as well, Daniel.” She motioned to the seat in front off to the side of her desk. “Pull up a seat! What brings you here this morning?” 

Pulling over the chair and sitting down, he responded. “I’m actually here for my first day of a student teaching position.” 

“Ah, of course! Now I remember, I knew I saw your name somewhere… where.. oh!” her eyes were wide in shock and she clasped her hands together while leaning forward. “You were the college student on the student-teacher form I saw! Well, I guess I never would have expected that from you. I assumed you would go off into space programs or technology. You always did love space! I’ll never forget your passion for becoming an astronaut. What made you decide to go into teaching?” 

“Well..” he crossed his arms and shrugged sheepishly. “Life has a way of changing so quickly, ya know. I started off in electrical engineering but life got busy and I decided to switch to a less demanding math program instead.” 

Life getting busy actually meant becoming Ghost King at age 18 after already having started his first year as an electrical engineering major in college, being bombarded with Ghost Zone duties, realizing there was no way he could juggle such a demanding major and reshape the Ghost Zone’s entire political structure, all leading to his decision to switch to a safer bet of a math major. 

It had been five years since then. He was now 23 years old. The Ghost Zone was in order, a royal court and advisors formally set up and a system set in place allowing him the freedom and ease to live in the human world almost full time. It had taken a lot, though. 

From the ages of eighteen to twenty-two, he worked hard to reshape the Ghost Zone and spent a lot of his time there. College was a second thought, as was his degree in mathematics. He only got the degree to have under his belt for when he was able to get back on his human feet in Amity Park. 

“I have a bachelor's degree in mathematics and somewhere along the lines I decided I wanted to try teaching. I had some incredible teachers who got me to where I am today, and I want to be able to do the same to today's youth.” 

Danny had been a straight A student before his portal accident. He had loved learning all throughout elementary school, too. After all, he did want to be an astronaut. Even at an early age he understood the amount of hard work and studying it would take him. But after the portal accident, his grades plummeted as he dealt with his own half-death and ghost fighting endeavors. 

But he could never forget the amazing teachers who still cared for him and fought for him through his teenage years. Teachers like Mr. Lancer who, even though they appeared prickly on the outside, had a kind heart and recognized the stress Danny had been enduring during high school. 

Mr. Lancer was the only teacher who ever knew he was Phantom. 

He was the reason Danny even graduated high school, and to that Danny feels immense gratitude. He took the passion and kindness to the Ghost Zone, where he would teach ghosts as well. All of the cumulation over childhood, through his teen years, and into his young adult life had led him here. 

To this very office. 

To his very own elementary school. 

“And now I’m working on an education minor and using my bachelors in math to specialize in elementary math. Specifically 5th and 6th grade. What better place to student teach than my old elementary school!” he finished. 

Mrs. Farnsworth laughed wholeheartedly and clapped her hands. “That is wonderful! I am so happy to hear that! Amity Park Elementary truly is a special place. Everyone here is so resilient and kind. Now then, do you know where you are headed? I know the school has changed since you’ve attended!” 

“I already received an email the other day about my room assignment, but thank you anyway Mrs. Farnsworth! I should get going now to meet up with the teacher and meet the students. My real first day starts tomorrow. Today is an introduction day!” 

“How perfect! You best be on your way, then! Come visit me any time! I will let the principal know you made it here and put you in the records.” 

“Yes, have a good day!” Danny stood up and thanked his old teacher once more before exiting the office. 

Danny Fenton, also known as Danny Phantom, King of the Ghost Zone, protector of ghosts and humans alike, walked down the halls to his assigned teaching classroom. He could do this. He was ready! He even had the whole ghost attacking Amity Park while he was teaching aspects all thought out! 

He made it to the classroom and knocked on the door. 

“Come in!” 

And with that, he opened the door to see a sea of preteen adolescents all turn their heads in unison to gaze at the newcomer who was intruding into their classroom. All motion ceased and a looming silence fell over the room. 

Danny raised an eyebrow at the scene before him. Ah, he forgot how weird sixth graders could be. 

“Well, well, well!” an eerily familiar voice rang through the dead silence of the classroom. “If it isn’t Danny Fenton.” 

All blood drained from Danny’s face in an instant. He knew that voice. His eyes left the sea of scary sixth grader faces to look towards the front of the classroom. And there, standing at the whiteboard, was none other than Wes Weston. 

“Or should I say… Phantom.”

Oh… he was so screwed. 

The heads of the sixth graders, which were already staring at him, stayed in place as Danny watched as their eyes all widened. Some kids actually did turn to glance at each other while sending hidden messages between themselves. A few of the boys began to snicker. 

“Hey Mr Weston, what are you even talking about? You talking about this lanky ass dude?” a dark brown haired boy with sun tanned skin spoke up, cutting through the silent room. 

“Finnian!” Wes – oh gosh it really was him – snapped his gaze away from Danny and towards the student who was seated in the middle row of the room. “What have I said about swearing in the classroom?” 

Shaking his head, the half ghost stepped fully into the classroom and closed the door, his eyes never leaving Wes’.

It was really him.

Wes Weston, in the flesh. 

Danny hadn’t seen him since high school graduation where Wes had proclaimed on stage that he would one day convince Amity Park of Phantom’s supposed identity. 

Nobody ever believed Wes’ claims that Phantom was really Danny Fenton. Their classmates always brushed it off as foolishness because how could a living boy be dead, too? It was a thought that stopped anyone dead (hah) in their tracks from making the connection that the two were really the same. 

You couldn’t be dead and alive at the same time. 

Obviously. 

That’s why only a few people knew of Danny’s real identity as half-ghost and as Phantom. He could count on only two hands the number of humans who knew. Sam, Tucker, Jazz, his parents, Mr. Lancer, the neighbor up the street…

And Wes Weston. 

Danny knew there was no hiding it from Wes during the final year of high school. Wes truly was too smart for his own – very annoying – good. 

But what was he doing teaching?! And elementary school of all places? 

Actually, Wes Weston teaching and corralling a group of sixth graders made a bit of sense in Danny’s mind as he attempted to collect all of his racing thoughts. Wait.. had that kid just called him a ‘lanky ass’? 

“You two look like you have beef. Serious beef.” Another student piped up, this time a girl with sparkling blue eyes and wavy light blonde hair – it was almost white in the light – who was sitting in the front of the room. 

Oh, had he been glaring at Wes for a tad too long? 

“You are so right, Lili! Stuff is going down in this class today, slay!” A tiny, orange haired girl popped out of her seat and jumped up and down. 

“Sit down, Harvey, please.” Wes sighed, sounding as if he dealt with this on a daily basis. 

Danny mentally made notes of the names he was hearing so far. Finnian, Lili, and Harvey. And by the looks of it, he had about fifteen names total to remember. It was a small class, then. Good. That would make it easier to remember names and faces. After all, this was his student teaching class for the next few months, and they already seemed like an eccentric crew. 

“I’ll ignore that ‘lanky ass’ comment –” 

“This is the new student teacher –” 

Both Danny and Wes said simultaneously.

“OOOH!!!! NEW GUY JUST SWORE BACK!” 

“I didn’t know teachers could swear.”

“SHIT IS GETTING REAL?” 

“Ok, but like, dude. You are pretty lanky.”

“Are we ignoring the fact that Mr. Weston called this new guy Phantom?”

“Chat, is this real?”

“ – what even is this day.” 

A cacophony of sounds slashed through the air and it was as if the previous silence was round house kicked into the ground. Laughter could be heard and chittering voices overlapped each other. One student was on the floor, rolling and clutching his stomach, another student was slamming his hand on his desk, and even the quiet kids sitting in the back of the room had small smiles on their faces. 

“Paw Patrol!”

“WE’RE ON A ROLL!” 

At once, all the students were in their seats and silenced. Danny stood, still at the back of the room with the closed door behind him now, staring at Wes who had managed to get his class’ attention in an instant. 

Impressive, he thought. I need that for my royal court. 

“Thank you.” The ginger haired young man motioned for Danny to come forward before turning to his class. “This is Mr. Fenton. He is a student teacher who will be under my supervision in the classroom. For the next few months, he will be leading your math class and will be here for homeroom and such, too.” 

That was correct. Sixth graders were still part of the elementary school here, so they had a designated main teacher but switched classes for math, ELA, social studies, and science. This class of students was Wes’ main class, though, who he was in charge of during all the in between times. This was their classroom, too, where all their belongings were kept. These students would switch classes together throughout the day, going to the other three sixth grade teachers rooms for designated subjects. Together. 

Danny was now standing at the front of the room, feeling a bit put on spot as the students all stared at him yet again. And to be introduced by Wes was just… odd. 

“It’s nice to meet you all.” he said warmly, hoping that his bright smile would help the kids to ignore his ‘lanky ass’ comment. What a great first impression… “I’m excited to be your student teacher! And to address some remarks I heard –”

Some of the students leaned forward in their seats, eager to hear where this statement was going. 

“ – no! I am not Phantom. Mr. Weston here was my classmate in high school, and he has a love for conspiracy theories!” 

Take that, Wes. 

“That's legitness!” Harvey squealed. 

“We have a class notebook dedicated to Mr. Weston’s conspiracy theories!” A student piped up, unaware of the glares her fellow classmates were now giving her. 

“Jill, that was supposed to be a secret!” multiple students responded at once. 

The girl, Jill, sat there with her hands over her mouth and her shoulders slumping. Her long black hair fell over her slumped shoulders and the pink bow in her hair even seemed to droop. Danny noticed her embarrassment and spoke up. 

 “Now that! That is something I’ve gotta see!” he laughed and shook his head with excitement. 

Jill lowered her hands and smiled warmly back at him. 

This class had made a notebook dedicated to Wes’ conspiracy theories? Just what was this class? Danny thought to himself. 

He had only been in the classroom for maybe a total of five minutes, but he could already feel the warmth and protection that flooded the room. He could barely feel a hint of malice or discomfort anywhere! That was… weird? 

Back in high school, ever since becoming half-ghost (and even more-so since becoming the Ghost King) , he could feel the tension and unease in every classroom he was in. There were clear barriers between social classes that left an unpleasant, bitter taste in his mouth. Yes, even way back in elementary school, he knew social classes existed between the popular kids and the so-called losers. Kids weren’t nice when he was in school! 

But here?

That taste was nowhere to be found. 

Was this the power of sixth graders? Some type of weird pre-teen phase where they all made a camaraderie? 

He could get behind this! This would be a piece of cake! It would be way easier than corralling his ghostly advisors or dealing with the court! 

With a new sense of invigorating passion for teaching rushing through his body and mind, he couldn’t help but smile widely. He could deal with the revelation that Wes Weston would be his supervisor for the next few months later. 

Thankfully, he had also made a decree to the Ghost Zone telling everyone that he was not to be disturbed in the human realm during the day on weekdays.

Everything was going to be great. 

Three days later…

“You’re like an accounting equation.” Wes peered at Danny and squinted his eyes, all while pointing his finger as he leaned against the cold brick hallway. 

They were finished with the school day and had just exited the classroom. Danny had settled in nicely over the past three days, learning the kids names and teaching one math class per day to start, otherwise watching and learning from Wes. (Yes, that was still weird.) He had forgotten that he would actually need to memorize the entire 6th grade, oops. 

Danny whipped his head around and choked on his drink – which just so happened to leave a green tint to his lips – and opened his mouth to protest. But before he could even mutter a word, the ginger haired man piped back up. 

“Ya see,” he drawled, inching closer to Danny and placing a hand on his hip. “In an accounting equation: A equals L plus E.” 

Danny darted his eyes back in forth in confusion, wiping his mouth after his previous choking session, Wes wasn’t making any sense, as usual.. 

“And that means what exactly?” the half ghost asked in a deadpan tone as if to convey absolute boredom and a sense of I’m so done with your shit. 

“Both sides of the equation must be equal.” Wes took his hand off of his hip and then raised his other hand and placed them out flat making up and down movements with them. “Equal. You get me so far?” 

“Okay, sure. A equals L plus E. Equal.” Danny recited back. “Got it. And this correlates to what, exactly?”

Danny truly had no idea where Wes was going with this. He had half the mind to just up and walk away, ignoring his – now – fellow co-worker completely. Gosh, they were co-workers now, weren't they. 

 If any fellow faculty were watching, they’d understand his actions. Nobody liked to get caught up in Wes Weston’s rambles. Especially when it came to his conspiracy theories which he was famous for dumping on anyone willing to listen. Which wasn't many because most people found out the hard way that even starting a bit of small talk could spur the man to begin his rambles. 

“The beautiful thing about the accounting equation is that everything on one side must equal everything on the other side.” Wes responded. 

The half ghost paused briefly as a realization washed over him. He sighed heavily, exhaustion and disbelief laced through. “Why do I have a feeling I know where this is going?” 

Wes only smirked and clasped his hands together. He glanced up and down the hall, still checking to make sure they were alone. Of course they were, it was past school hours and they were supposed to be tidying up their classrooms before heading out for the day. 

Danny internally groaned and watched as Wes inched even closer to him. 

“Everything must add up equally on both sides.” he whispered, eyes filled with mischief. “And the glorious thing is, even if one teensy, tiny number is wrong, the entire equation is messed up. And you!” 

At this, he jabbed a finger into Danny’s chest. 

“You have two perfectly equal sides, don’t you?”

The half ghost could only stare blankly at Wes. Did he really just…

“I wonder what would happen if one tiny number was wrong.” Wes smirked now, removing his finger and folding his arms over his chest. “The entire equation would fall….” and he cocked his head, letting his hands make a dropping motion, “... apart.”  

“Are you… are you threatening me?” Danny growled under his breath with a deep, low rumble sounding from his chest in unison. 

Wes only smirked yet again at the display and hummed in response. “You can’t fool me, Fenton. Honestly, I just don’t really like you. I spent my entire high school time being made fun of because nobody believed me! I was the only one who saw the truth! I was made a fool! So maybe I do enjoy a bit of drama, sue me.” 

“This is a freaking elementary school!” Danny shot back, anger evident in his voice. “What the hell do you mean by drama? We should be here to teach kids!”

He took a deep breath before getting up close in Wes’ face. “Listen here, Weston. I know you know my secret, and I am sorry for how you were treated in high school. Trust me, I know what it was like, too! But I am here to learn to teach these students, so could we ₱ⱠɆ₳₴Ɇ ₲Ɇ₮ ₳ⱠØ₦₲ ₣ØⱤ ₮ⱧɆ ₦ɆӾ₮ ₣Ɇ₩ ₥Ø₦₮Ⱨ₴!?”

Wes’ face had adorned a sickly sheen and his eyes were widened in fear. His body shook slightly as he raised a finger and pointed above Danny’s head.  “Well, yes - uh - we totally - can, ya see…” 

Oh, crap…

The half ghost immediately started taking deep breaths and prodded his pulsing core, hoping to calm it down. He had gotten too worked up and now his ghostly, kingly power was shining through. He could only imagine what Wes was seeing: a glowing bright aura, a shadow of a crown floating above his head, neon green eyes with a piercing glare. Yikes.. 

“Listen, Wes. Your class has something special. They’re nice to each other. Do you honestly remember a time our classmates were nice to each other?" he said, his voice returning back to normal. 

The ginger pursed his lips and turned his head away, his eyes glancing downwards. “No,” he said quietly after a pause, “I can’t remember. Things were different back when we were young. But now, kids band together in this town because they know how dangerous ghosts can be. And yeah, you’ve – and I can’t believe I am saying this – have done a good job of decreasing attacks, these kids somehow know to be nice to each other because they’ve seen destruction. And maybe part of that is because they are right on the cusp of teenage-hood, so they still have some innocence and childlike wonder. Who knows, honestly. Sixth graders are something else and –”

Wes paused suddenly. 

“There haven’t been any ghost attacks.” he stated simply, eyes widening. It was clear that the thought had occurred to him out of the blue. 

“Yeah,” Danny replied, “I made a decree to the Zone saying to not bother me while I was student teaching here.” 

Peering eyes met Danny’s own. 

“Hm, and they will follow that decree?” Wes asked skeptically. 

“Hopefully.”

“Oh you better hope, Fenton.”

Two weeks later…

It was a warm Monday morning in Amity Park. The sun was shining brightly and the spring birds could be heard chirping outside the slightly cracked windows of a certain classroom. A warm breeze flowed through the open windows, rustling students papers as they worked diligently on their assignments. 

Wes was sitting at his desk grading papers, a neutral expression on his face. He had one leg crossed and his pen tapped in a rhythmic pattern.  

Danny was sitting next to a student – Desmond was his name – helping him work through a math problem. He was a small sixth grader with big, round, innocent eyes and dark skin. He spoke so softly and still had a childlike wonder akin to a younger child which Danny was grateful for. 

He had learned very quickly that sixth grade was a huge humble jumble of still innocent children and rampaging hormonal pre-teens. If some of the girls towered over the boys, no one batted an eye because they were all simply “at that age”. Conversations he would overhear would range from girls scouting out potential “hot boyfriends” and ranting about the latest horror movie to kids talking about the latest show airing on Disney channel or talking about sports. 

Desmond was one of the kids who hadn’t hit puberty yet and still had some innocence, evident by the baby fat still clinging to his face. He would look at Danny with the most adorably inquisitive looks when he was stumped on his math questions, and Danny’s heart melted each time. 

And after seeing Desmond’s face light up with joy as he figured out the solutions, it only made the half ghost’s core thrum with happiness and accomplishment. 

He had been going desk by desk helping kids with anything they were confused or struggling with. Each time a student felt accomplished or understood the equations, Danny experienced a sense of overwhelming energy flooding his core. He couldn’t explain why it was happening, but he had a feeling it had to do with his ghostly obsession of protection and comfort. 

The past two weeks, Danny had adapted well and was slowly starting to memorize students' names between all four classes spanning the entire sixth grade. He had also started to take over lessons from Wes after observing him for the first few days. 

He was happy, truly, and knew deep in his heart and core that he was thriving. 

Even Wes commented on Danny’s apparent enthusiasm that radiated through his every being throughout each day. 

“You are oddly good at this whole teaching thing,” he had said while they were eating lunch in the staff room a few days earlier, “and it creeps me out because this is the last job I would have ever imagined you doing. You’re so enthusiastic, too! Complete 180 from highschool, man.”

Danny was enthusiastic; anyone could see that. Heck, even the students saw it and absorbed the emotion. Bright, cheerful welcomes could be heard as each class entered for their math lessons of the day. The rampant, infectious happiness warmed Danny's heart and went right down to his core, which in turn made his core thrum happily, too! 

And better yet, there hadn’t been a single ghost attack since he started two weeks ago! 

BEEP!!

BEEP!!

“Ghost alert! All personnel report to the gym.” 

The intercom crackled as the automated voice spread over the room. Groans erupted from the students mouths and the chairs made screeching noises across the floor as they were all moved at once. 

Danny’s entire body stopped in a jolt and his eyes widened.

Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me… he thought to himself in shock. 

Widened eyes soon turned into a piercing glare as he stood up and surveyed the room. The kids were already starting to move to make a line at the classroom door, most of them grumbling under their breaths as if this was a common occurrence. Even Desmond had abandoned his math problems and was rushing to join the line of students at the door. 

Of course it is, Danny thought with dread coursing through his veins. These kids are probably used to this…. 

“So much for that decree, huh, Fenton?” Wes muttered as he  walked past his stunned co-worker and went to grab a clipboard hanging near the door. Right, standard procedure, just like a fire drill or other emergency. “Class, let’s start walking to the gym. No talking. Fenton, with me.” 

Panic surged through Danny’s core. 

No… 

Why was this happening?! 

He had put out a decree! But.. gosh… maybe it was stupid of him to actually believe it would work. Of course his luck would have to run out eventually! Two weeks was a miracle, apparently. 

His fists clenched and a scowl adorned his face. The half ghost’s eyes were brimmed with sudden anger and apprehension. 

How dare a ghost attack during the schoolday! 

What about the decree?

How could they DEFY HIM?! 

Now his students, his haunt, his people were in DANGER!

Burning hot anger rushed through his veins and his body shivered with it. 

He had written that decree–had thought it would work! 

ⱧØ₩ Đ₳ⱤɆ ₮ⱧɆɎ ł₦V₳ĐɆ Ⱨł₴ ₱ⱤØ₮Ɇ₵₮ɆĐ Ⱨ₳Ʉ₦₮!

“FENTON!” 

Danny’s eyes snapped towards the sound of the shout. There, standing in the doorway, eyes flitting between the students – who were also staring in shock at the half ghost – was Wes with a look he had never seen on the man’s face before. 

Nervousness?

Fear? 

“I said ‘with me’!” Wes had the clipboard gripped so tightly in his hands that his entire arm shook. “Snap out of it and act like the teacher you are training to be, or so help me!” 

It was as if Wes knew exactly what was happening in Danny’s mind. Figures, being one of the only people who knew his secret.

Danny hung his head and brought his hands to his face, seeing green reflect off his fingertips. Guilt wracked his mind and he squeezed his eyes as tightly as he could. 

He had lost control and he could feel it deep into his core. His control was slipping – his ghostly traits fighting to take over and ₱ⱤØ₮Ɇ₵₮! 

“Mr. Fenton, maybe you can be weird and creepy when the ghost attack is over?” Finnian piped up, an oddly bright smile adorning his face. 

That snapped Danny right out of his downward spiral of thoughts and had the young man staring right at the young boy who had spoken. Finnian only gave him another reassuring smile. 

Gosh, these kids were so good… 

Danny turned one last time to look at Wes. The ginger still had an apprehensive look on his face, his eyes steeled with fear. Danny walked forward, shaking his ghostly thoughts away. 

This was normal, he reminded himself, even though, deep down, he could feel his core prodding at a sense of Đ₳₦₲ɆⱤ and ₮ⱧⱤɆ₳₮! 

No, stop. Mom and Dad are capable! And so is Valerie! He had to remind himself. Right now, he was a teacher – a student teacher – and he couldn’t falter on his job. 

“Sorry, sorry…” he apologized quietly as he joined Wes at the front of the line.

The two teachers and the students exited the classroom. The ghost alarm still blared overhead, urging the group to walk at a brisk speed towards the gym. Most of the students were staying quiet and only a few were quietly talking to each other. Danny noticed, but Wes paid no mind. Must be normal…how often did they have these attacks? 

He had been in the Zone too much the past few years, apparently leaving Amity Park under the protection of his parents and Valerie for too long.

As the group walked, Danny did his best to stay in line beside Wes. But something was prodding at his brain, his core, his entire being. 

It hurt. Gosh, it hurt. 

Something was close…. 

His breath misted in front of him. 

There it was! There was a ghost! 

“Fenton…” Wes said silently, almost dead calm. “Tell me I didn’t just see what I thought I did.” 

Danny gulped, staring down at his feet as they continued to make it to the gym. They were so close… only two more hallways.. 

“I need to go,” he stated. 

Wes breathed heavily, his clipboard almost cracking under the pressure of his gripped hands. 

“I knew it. I knew it! I saw the moment your demeanor changed in the classroom. You could sense the ghost before your ghost sense even went off.” Wes whispered, his voice now shaking with fear. 

The gym doors came into view as they turned the final corner. Other classes were filtering in ahead of them. 

“DEZZY!” a guttural scream erupted through the hallway. 

Wes and Danny – and the entire class – whipped around to the location of the scream. There stood Jill, turned in the opposite direction, her arms stretched out wide in a desperate attempt to grab something in front of her. 

But there was nothing.

And Desmond was not there. 

Desmond, who had been at the back of the line, was nowhere to be seen. 

Jill was clutching her chest as tears streamed down her face. Her sobs echoed loudly as she struggled to breathe. Her fellow classmates were watching in stunned horror, some of them also with tears in their eyes at the sight of their friend crying and the dawning implications. 

 “IT TO-Ok H-hIM!” she managed to force out through breaths. “THE G-GHOST-T!” 

Two students immediately burst into tears as well, their bodies shaking, and they moved closer to Jill to wrap their arms around her. Teachers ahead of them were now moving their students even quicker into the gym, knowing that their own students' safety was top priority, even though a child had just disappeared right here. 

“What did it look like, Jill?” Wes demanded, quickly approaching the girl. 

Danny also followed quickly behind, his core screaming at him to MOVE! But his human brain fought for dominance, reminding himself that he was also the teacher and authority figure in this situation and he needed to gather details and calm his student. 

“F-FOX!” she yelled, unable to control the volume of her voice. 

The panic was in full swing for the young girl. She was still being cradled by her two classmates, who had all since fallen to the ground in shock. 

These kids must have never seen a true ghost attack so up close.. Danny thought grimly. Also.. a fox? 

Ghost animals were common, that was true. They were either low level ghosts or some of the highest level. Danny only hoped this was a low level ghost who had picked up Desmond and fled with him. 

His core lurched suddenly.

 ₱ⱤØ₮Ɇ₵₮ ĐɆ₴₥Ø₦Đ!

₲Ø!

F̷I̷N̷D̷! 

He couldn’t take it anymore. His ghostly mind surged forward into the forefront and took over. And with that, he popped out of the visible plane. 

“WHAT THE HELL!” 

“MR. FENTON!”

“The ghost took Mr. Fenton, too!!” 

“ENOUGH!” Wes yelled, stunning the students into silence despite the chaos surrounding them. Even Jill’s crying lessened as they all stared back at their teacher. Wes took a few deep breaths before continuing. “Stand up, form a line. We are going into the gym where it is safe. Do not ask questions and do not talk. I understand you are confused and scared – I admit, I am too – but Mr Fenton would want us in the gym.” 

“But why?” demanded Harvey, storming right up to her teacher without fear. “The ghost just took Dezzy and Mr. Fenton! How could you possibly know what Mr. Fenton wants?!” 

Her breathing was erratic and shaky now. She spoke for all of her classmates who nodded in fearful agreement behind her. 

“Harvey…” Wes bent down to eye level with the girl, her green eyes fierce and her curly hair a fiery orange, and gently took her hand in his. “You have every right to be confused, but right now, I am in charge and we are in a ghost attack. Do you understand this? Your safety is my top priority, as it is Mr. Fenton’s. When this is all over, you have my word that you can pester the living daylights out of Mr Fenton –”

“HE COULD BE DEAD!” wailed another student. 

“He isn’t and he won’t be. In the gym, now.” Wes responded firmly with authority ringing through his voice. 

He knew this felt cruel to his students. He knew they were afraid and confused. This must’ve felt soul crushing to them. Maybe they were already experiencing shock and grief. But he also knew that getting them into the gym was the top priority, and he couldn't risk any other students being taken. 

His class obeyed his words and tearfully, still, made their way into the protection of the gym. Other teachers gave weary glances at Wes – having heard the commotion outside the doors but knowing it would be too dangerous to exit the gym – but ignored them as watched his class find the other sixth graders and huddle down on the cold floor. They were clearly shaken, all of them still crying in fear for their fellow classmate and friend. 

Wes, on the other hand, was currently panicking on the inside. 

His student was just taken! 

But it was okay, because Danny would rescue him. 

That still didn't change the fact that his student could be hurt. 

He groaned and clutched his head which was beginning to pound with pain – the buildup of sudden stress and fear finally making its presence known. 

“Phantom will save him,” he whispered to himself quietly.

Outside of the gym, Danny had already transformed while invisible. His entire body and mind were on autopilot as his core scanned the area for the ghost. He floated in the air, focusing on his core as it searched for the location of the supposed ghost fox. 

THERE! 

He could feel the deep, burning sensation of a ghost core located not too far away! The half ghost shot off at a break-neck speed, trusting that his body would guide him to the correct location.

Save Desmond!

Find him! 

₱ⱤØ₮Ɇ₵₮!

He rounded the sharp corner of the hallway leading down to the first grade wing and saw it there, hiding in the corner, stalking its supposed prey with splintered eyes. 

The creature was bright and glowing – well, duh, it was a ghost – with slippery saliva pooling in its mouth and dripping over the sides of its teeth. Its massive body was five times the size of a normal fox and its muscles were taut with power and strength. 

It really was quite ugly. And the way the saliva poured from its mouth had Danny gagging internally. The half ghost eyed the creature and focused on its obvious aggression and terrifying eyes, 

Oh gosh, it’s rabid! Danny thought with a shock. 

A rabid ghost fox? An alive fox with rabies was already dangerous enough, one could only imagine what a ghostly animal with rabies could do. 

It’s supposed prey though..

Danny felt his entire body sink down in panic as he saw his student – part of his haunt! –  with his back against the cold, brick wall of the hallway. Saliva coated his entire body – a thick, goopy substance that glowed with fiery passion.

The ghost fox was staring at Desmond with hunger in its eyes. The animal had obviously snatched up the young boy, carried him halfway across the school, and deposited him on the ground to admire its catch. 

How sickening.. Danny's stomach lurched again in disgust and anger. 

The boy had yet to notice the half ghost standing behind the ghost fox. Slowly, Danny lifted his hands – he did not want to alert the fox of his arrival in fear of starling the animal to move any closer to Desmond or attacking the boy again – in an attempt to make Desmond notice his presence. The fox was too intently staring at the boy to sense Danny’s presence, apparently. 

Trembling eyes found Danny’s own and widened in shock. 

“Phantom.” Desmond mouthed wordlessly, a glimmer of hope surfacing in his face despite his body trembling so violently in fear. 

Danny nodded in response, plastering a fake smile across his face. But deep inside, he was panicking beyond belief. His core was screaming at him and the screaming was causing an intense pain. 

₱ⱤØ₮Ɇ₵₮!

₩₳Ɽ₥₮Ⱨ!

₴₳₣Ɇ₮Ɏ!

₴₳VɆ!

₱ⱤØ₮Ɇ₵₮!

His ghost instincts and obsession were at full power, no doubt. He couldn’t fight back anymore – as he hoped he could knowing that he was getting a human job, be that was a whole other topic – not when his own student had been taken so violently. 

The glow surrounding Danny's body grew immensely brighter and seemed to pulse in a steady but threatening way. His eyes narrowed into thin slants, bright green and toxic eyes glaring arrows into the fox’s body. He pulled on the anger swarming his body; he called it forward into his hands which were then enveloped with powerful, blazing energy. 

One blast should do it… he thought to himself as he steadied his breathing. 

He shifted his stance to ready himself to unleash a powerful blast of deadly, ghostly energy at the unsuspecting fox. 

₦Ø₩!

A sharp, ear splitting howl spilled through the hallway. Danny winced in pain at the sound but knew he had landed a good hit on the ghost. 

The fox continued to howl in pain, arching its head back. Its fur stood on high as it whirled around to face its attacker. Danny didn’t falter, his hands still outstretched, already charging up another blast of energy. 

“Direct hit!” Desmond blurted out before slapping his hands over his mouth. 

The boy must’ve realized what he had said, because his entire face drained in color. The fox whipped its head back to stare menacingly at its prey. Desmond’s body was trembling and if you looked closely you could see his face glistened with cold sweat. His eyes widened – wider than his big, round eyes already were – noticing that the fox was about to launch to tear into its prey and execute the kill. 

The fox pounced, its jaw opened wide.

“DESMOND!” he screamed, his voice sounding like nails on a chalkboard. 

It was almost like he was moving in slow motion, or that he was under water. Time seemed to slow down. The fox moved forward, inching ever so closer to its future kill. Danny also moved in tandem, arms stretched out in front of him in desperation. It was a race, now, to see who would make it to the boy in front of them. 

NO! 

HE WOULDN’T LET A STUDENT DIE ON HIS WATCH! 

₱ⱤØ₮Ɇ₵₮... Ⱨ₳Ʉ₦₮.. ₱ⱤØ₮Ɇ₵₮... ₥Ɏ ₱ɆØ₱ⱠɆ

Danny’s core burned and power surged through his entire body. The ever present feeling of protection and safety poured through his veins. 

But… it was going to be too late… 

The ghost fox was simply too fast. He was winning the race. His prey would be his kill. His to keep and his to devour. 

Danny was failing. 

Intense dread and ice poured through him, then. 

No…

NO!!

N̷O̷O̷O̷!̷!̷

SLLUUUURP!

Slow motion ceased, and Danny, still shooting forward with all of his power, went flying and crashed into the brick wall ahead of him, falling to the floor in a hump. 

“Looks like I made it just in time!” a voice sounded from down the hall. 

Danny blinked. 

What had just happened? 

A soft cry started off to the side of where Danny was ,and he turned his head quickly to see. Desmond was still sitting, curled in so tightly on himself, covered in thick, green saliva. Thick, fat tears rolled down his face as his body was wracked with a release of tension. You could see the tension draining from his entire body, his limbs starting to go numb in relief. 

“I- I th-thought I w-was gonna DIE!” the young boy wailed, his eyes staring off ahead of him in a daze. 

Danny quickly put his hands down and hoisted himself up to a sitting position, turning to face his student. 

His own mind was reeling. 

In a span of only 15 minutes – yes, it had really only been that long–  he had gone from working through math problems with his student to sitting next to the same student in his ghost form, his other half, the other part of his identity, of what made Danny, Danny. 

Perhaps it was because his ghost side was so deeply ingrained into his own identity that he failed to realize that he was still in his ghost form. Or maybe it was due to the adrenaline still coursing through his body that he failed to understand the implications of his future actions. 

“Desmond, oh my goodness!!" the half-ghost scrambled to his feet and placed himself right in front of the boy. “Are you hurt? Do you feel any pain?” 

Desmond blinked slowly, still hiccuping as he cried. He shook his head quickly and stared at the ghost ahead of him. Phantom. 

Danny sighed in relief, his shoulders sagging and his eyes closing. 

The sound of footsteps drew closer to teacher and student. 

“Man, that was one hell of a ghost animal!” Tucker Foley said as he approached. “Did you see the saliva on that thing? Vile! Totally rabid. EUGH!” 

Danny cracked a smile at his best friend's antics.Thank goodness Tucker had showed up when he had. He didn’t want to even think about what could have happened if he hadn’t shown up… 

 Oh right, the saliva. He stuck a hand out and placed it on Desmond’s shoulder, causing the boy to shiver and stare at where the hands rested in his shoulder. 

Danny felt his intangibility flow through his body and transfer over to his student, as well. The thick, neon saliva fell through Desmond and onto the floor. Danny then took the boy’s hand and lifted him up to stand so that he wasn't sitting in the saliva that was now all over the hallway floors. 

“All clean now!” Danny patted Desmond’s shoulder and gave him a warm smile. “And you are safe now, too. I promise.” 

“All thanks to Tucker Foley, also known as TF for –”

“Alright, alrighty!” Danny threw his head back and groaned at his friend. “You have been saying that since, what, middle school? It gets old, dude!” 

Tucker pouted – yes, pouted – and crossed his arms, gripping the Fenton Thermos he had sucked the ghost fox up in tightly. “You’re no fun.” 

“Thank you for saving us, Tucker.” Danny said softly with sincerity in his voice. 

Truly, he was now having deep thoughts about what outcome could have happened if Tucker hadn’t shown up, and his core ached at the thoughts. 

Tucker continued to pout in defiance but a small smile could be seen creeping onto his face. He pointed then at Desmond. “You, good sir, look like a mini-me! Minus the glasses, but hey! I think I had just as much baby fat as you do! And I had that same haircut! I had super fluffy hair in elementary school, but once I started wearing hats it all kinda flattened…” he trailed off, hand going up to point to his classic red beanie. 

Desmond blushed and his hands crept up to his face. “I don’t have baby fat…” he muttered, pinching at his cheeks, finally breaking his own state of shock. He also went to grab a lock of his curls, pulling it down to peer at it in front of his face. 

Danny chuckled at the interaction, still keeping one hand on Desmond’s shoulder. The boy didn’t seem to notice now, for he was too busy fiddling with his own hair as a way to ground himself. 

“I’ll take the rabid fox back to the Zone –” Tucker started. 

“You better not just drop it in there –”

“Dude, relax. I wouldn’t do that…” 

“You totally would and then make me deal with it later.” 

“.... Okay maybe I would, but nah, I’ll hand this bad boy off to Walker!” 

Danny gave his friend a deadpan expression. Unbeknownst to the two young men, Desmond watched them intently with an inquisitive expression. 

“Better not, it’s much too dangerous. I could sense it even before my ghost sense was triggered. Freaking Wes even picked up on it – or on me, I should say – “ 

Desmond stared at Phantom with wide eyes. 

“ – so place it in the containment unit in the lab. That should hold it.” 

Tucker saluted and turned on his heel. “Sounds good to me! I’ll alert the teachers and staff that the attack is over before heading out. Hmm, actually, lemme walk this boy back to the gym. The sight of you would just cause a whole ‘nother ruckus.” 

“Good thinking, Tuck.” Danny said and turned to Desmond. “Will you be okay to walk with Tucker back to the gym? You know him, right? He’s part of Amity Park’s Ghost Defense Unit!” 

Desmond nodded, not daring to say what his own mind was thinking. He could deal with that later with his classmates. 

He followed Tucker towards the gym, and Danny disappeared from sight. 

Two days later…

The class was settling back down after the traumatizing ghost attack that had occurred two days earlier. The kids now all kept eyes on their classmate Desmond, never letting him leave their presence. 

No one had even dared to mention the attack. They hadn’t even pestered Danny with questions afterwards. Assumptions were made, of course, on where the student teacher had gone during the ghost attack and how he returned, but no one really thought too deeply about it. 

Danny was also adjusting back to normalcy after his tumble with the rabid ghost fox. All of his cuts and scratches had healed – thank you, ghost healing! – and he was making sure to drink extra ectoplasm throughout the day. He currently had it mixed with his coffee which sat in his mug on Wes’ desk. 

It was about nine in the morning and homeroom was just ending. The kids were pulling out their math notebooks, preparing themselves for the math lesson for the day. 

“Fenton, come with me for a few minutes. I forgot no one ever showed you where the copying room is, and I’m definitely gonna annoy the heck out of you as an errand boy in the next few days.” Wes said with a smirk on his face, rolling a pen between his fingers. 

Danny only rolled his eyes and the students began to snicker at their teachers' banter. 

“Alrighty, alright! But who will watch the class.” he asked. 

“They’re old enough to be on their own for a few minutes. Gotta give these kids the chance to prove themselves as the rulers of the elementary school, ya know.” 

Danny chuckled and nodded, standing up to follow his co-worker. 

Wes and Danny exited the classroom, not before Wes turned around quickly and, peering at his students, made the universal ‘I’m watching you’ gesture before closing the door. 

The class waited in silence for a few seconds, no one daring to speak or move. Jill played with her hair, twirling it around her finger while Harvey examined her nail polish. Two other students whispered quietly to each other, leaning across the aisle separating them. 

Lili’s eyes darted back and forth, waiting to see who would move first. Surely, it would be one of the boys. Finnian, most likely, for he was always leading the class. 

The sound of a chair sliding across the floor made the class turn their head towards the student who was rising out of the seat. 

“Dezzy?!” Lili shrieked quietly, almost whispering. 

The entire class watched as Desmond strode to the front of the classroom with a determined look on his face. He turned around to face his classmates. 

“Jill, grab the notebook. We need to make an update. Mr. Weston actually has a correct conspiracy theory.” 

________________________________________________

Art by me! :D