Work Text:
Danny wanted to yell. Or just to go ghost and fly back to Oregon and never return after Lancer announced their newest project. Well, the project itself wasn’t the issue – a presentation on Midwestern Gothic isn’t the worst thing – but Lancer decided the groups.
So instead of working with Sam and Tucker like he normally does, Lancer put him in a group with Paulina, Star and worst of all: Dash.
Sam and Tucker, on the other hand, are in a group with Kwan and Wes. Kwan is the nicest A-Lister – but still an A-Lister – and Wes is Wes, but Wes is still better than Dash.
After he spend his summers in Gravity Falls, something he’s done every summer since he was twelve, he had the tendency to cling to his friends for the first few months after returning, as if to make up for the missed summer. So for Danny working on the first presentation of the year with anyone else but them felt wrong.
It didn’t help that the three had Danny do all the work. Not even in a ‘let the nerd do all the work’ sense, the three A-Listers… their priority just laid elsewhere.
It shouldn’t surprise him as Paulina runs the Phan Club and Dash is her second in command, but their mind was on Phantom. Specifically to summon him.
So as they were at Star’s place – specifically her attic which has been reburbished as a lounge for Star and her friends to hang out in - to work on the project, instead of doing anything productive, Paulina and Star prepared what was supposed to be a summoning circle. Danny saw many summoning circles in Gravity Falls, especially last summer, so he knows that circle was just… not it.
Danny looked up from Star’s laptop – she wanted to make sure they have the power point on hand - as she suspected Danny would forget his home… which is a fair worry – and eyed the ‘summoning circle’. But for an involuntarily trained eye, it just looks like chalk drawings on a hard wood floor that just happens to be in a round form.
“What is this supposed to be?” he simply asked.
“A summoning circle.” Star simply stated as she put the last touches onto the chalk drawing as Paulina placed a few candles. “We want to summon Phantom!”
Danny sighed. “While I am not against procrastination… Phantom is a ghost.” Not to mention that this nonsensical circle won’t do shit and he doubts they know any working chants.
“Duh!” Paulina voiced as if he is an idiot.
He sighed again and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “You can’t summon ghosts, Paulina! They aren’t demons, they are ghosts!” he explained. Danny let it slip in annoyance, “Not to mention if he were a demon, which he isn’t,” - lie, he is since last summer - “, each entity that can be summoned has a specific summoning circle matched to them. You can’t just free style a summoning wheel and hope it calls the right dude!”
The trio looked at him, eyes wide. He flinched back. “Uh, forget I said anything…” he returned to type on the pale pink laptop.
But Paulina stepped closer. “Nah ah ah! You know something, Fenton!”
“Yeah! You clearly know something! Are your parents studying demons now or…” Dash added in.
Danny shook his head. “Luckily not. They would get so much wrong and endanger everyone if they knew demons are real. So yeah, I know about demons.” It was pointless to argue that now.
“Summon one!” Paulina demanded, “We want to see a demon!”
“Do it or I lock you into a locker next Monday!” Dash threatened him.
Star just nod in agreement.
Danny closed the lid of the laptop and thought. He can’t get out of this, but he has an idea to get some use out of this. As for what demon to call...
Tad Strange isn’t someone to summon for the lols. Pacifire is too masochistic to introduce to them. Lava Lamp and Tony Three-Legs are just too weird to introduce them as their first demon. Dan Crableman on the other hand is too bland to be introduced as their first demon: he is basically just a sentient crab!
Xanthar is too big to fit into the attic, while Hectorgon is… a bad influence but not the worst option, but not the best either. Keyhole is too stupid to summon safely, Teeth and 8-Ball will eat them on sight, while Pyronica is, even unintentionally, too much of a fire hazard. Amorphous Shape would be the best… but she is only visible to Tad Strange, Bill Cipher, 8-Ball and Danny. Well, and guys on DMT, but Danny can’t give them DMT!
Well, Kryptos it is, then.
Danny looked up, “Fine, I already know which demon to introduce you to. But after this is done, we actually work on the project, okay?”
“Deal!” the trio said. Danny’s eyes snapped to his hands, where small stars where glowing.
“It is a deal, then.” Danny replied before standing up. “First we need to get rid of your circle. Star, do you still have chalk?”
Half an hour, the real summoning circle was drawn and four candles placed around it. Unlike Bill Cipher’s summoning wheel, Kryptos was more simple as he is a weaker demon and less of a danger.
Star then handed him a picture of Mayor Masters that she printed out on his request. “What is the picture for?”
As he crossed out Vlad’s eyes, he explained, “The ritual needs the picture of your enemy with the eyes crossed out.” Star took a step back. “You asked for a demon summoning, now don’t chicken out.”
“We won’t, Fenturd!” Dash said as he lit the candles, “This better not be a prank!” If it were, Danny would summon Crableman.
After the last candle was lit, Danny started to chant. Like the chant needed to summon Bill Cipher, it was backwards, but the words themselves were less boring and more cringe compared to Bill’s ‘Backwards message’ backwards.
Halfway through the chant, the candles’ flames flared, turning to a grayish shade of blue. The A-List realized whatever Danny was doing was working.
A few feet floating over the picture frame, a diamond square form was forming.
Like Bill, this demon had one singular eye, but Kryptos’ small eye was on top of his body, has his stupid grin needed most of the space on his body.
“Oh Danny! Missed me already?” the gray demon laughed.
The A-List cowered in a corner. “You know this thing?”
“Rude! I have a name, you know!” Kryptos complained.
Danny just replied, “I knew his summoning wheel, didn’t I? Anyway.” he turned his attention to the demon, “They just asked me to summon a demon, to show they exist.”
Kryptos chuckled, “Why not summoning Astralis? Would have been easier. Considering, you know,”, he crackled, “, you basically got Astra on speed dial.”
Danny rolled his eyes. “Anyway, presentation over!” He smeared some of the summoning wheel, kicking Kryptos out of reality.
“Hey-” the demon yapped, before popping out of existance.
The A-List relaxed. “That was a real demon?” Star said, I expected more horns.”
He just shrugged, “Things often aren’t how we expect them to be. Now, can we get started with your part of the deal?”
Meanwhile in Sam’s house…
“Man, I’m kinda glad I’m in a group with you.”, Kwan said, “My friends would just procrstinate with some stupid idea, so that we have to make a nerd do your project three days before presentation. Especially now.”
“Then again Lancer would give you passing grades if you showed nothing anyway.” Wes said, eyeing Kwan. The A-Lister winced, being called out.
Sam raised an eye brow. “Especially now? What do you mean?”
Kwan sighed, “Paulina and Star got the idea to summon Phantom. Summoning circle and all that.”
Sam huffed. “Really? Ghost cannot be summoned. They’ll waste their time, according to Danny.”
Wes looked at her, “Fenton knows about demons?”
Sam just said nonchalantly, “He had a run-in with some demons while he spend his summer break in Oregon with his great uncle. His great uncle studies demons.”
Wes blinked. “Wait, are you serious?”
Kwan chuckled a bit, thinking they were screwing with the conspiracy nut.