Chapter Text
The Fentonworks laboratory was a state of the art workshop dedicated to the identifcation, studying, and possible exploration of the Afterlife. Jack and Maddie Fenton theoretically ‘Discovered’ its existence back in their college days, and have been putting all their effort into creating a stable portal to and from this so called ‘Ghost Zone’. The Husband and Wife duo truly believed in life after death, and put their everything into proving that their theories were true, and on one sunny summer day, They put the finishing touches on their own tower of babel. The Ghost Portal was completed on a sunny August morning, and hastily activated. Unfortunately for the weary researchers though, it seemed as though their portal was a failure. Dejected, they left their lab to workshop more ideas on what went wrong, Leaving their son Danny and his two friends, Sam and Tucker, alone in the lab to finish some homework. Well as it turns out, their ghost portal was fully functional after all, they just forgot to activate one particular switch inside the actual portal itself. A switch that Danny Fenton accidentally found when pressed to go take a look inside his parents latest project. This seemingly minor piece of the puzzle was only the first domino to fall in a series of events that would change Danny, his sleepy hometown of Amity Park, and two entirely separate dimensions. This is his story.
“-anny?!! Wake up, Danny!”
Danny came-to violently, shooting up from his spot on the floor, suddenly aware. The lab was bathed in a red and green glow, the sound of the emergency alarms and his friends startled shouts filling his ears. Everything Hurt. his entire body felt like it was on fire. The boy pushed his way past his friends, crawling to a wall to get to his feet, but his knees buckled as a spasm shook through his entire core, causing the boy to cough violently, his eyes were having a hard time focusing, but he didn’t know what was more worrying, the blood he just spit out, or the flecks of radioactive green in it. He turned his gaze towards Sam and Tucker. Sam was crying, which is never good. Nothing makes Sam Manson cry, Tucker was in about as well of states, Danny couldn’t get his bearings, but he could finally catch on to what the other boy was saying.
“Dude What happened in there?! Why do you look different, are you ok?”
Sam snapped at Tucker, tearing her gaze from Danny, smacking the upside of the black boy's head.
“Of course he’s not ok, Tucker! He just coughed up Blood . We need to get him to a hospital!”
At the mention of a hospital, Danny became aware of a pounding at the door upstairs. Whatever happened must’ve activated the emergency lockdown features, sealing their exit up tight for the moment, locking them inside, and Danny's parents outside. Danny opened his mouth to speak, but coughed again, causing his friends to begin to move towards him to help him, but he gestured for them to stop. He pushed through the pain for a moment, looking at tucker.
“A switch, there’s a switch by the wall near the end of the stairs. It’ll open the door.”
Another violent spasm knocked the boy to his knees, Sam rushed over to catch the boy, but something strange caught his eye. There was a full-sized mirror over by a closet full of specially designed Ghost-Zone exploration suits his parents designed. Danny was wearing one himself, but he didn’t recognize his own reflection. Danny hobbled over to the mirror with sams assistance. Sam looked the same, Jet black hair, Amethyst purple eyes, black and purple clothes, looking at the boy next to her with worry. Tucker looks the same to him too, rushing over towards the wall to find the switch he mentioned. Dark skin, blue eyes, a red beanie and glasses. Everything about his best friends was the same. Then what happened to him? His hair was bone white, when it used to be as black as Sams, his eyes were green, as greener than anything he’s seen before, seeming to glow, even the jumpsuit’s colors were switched, what once was a fully fitted jumpsuit for exploring unknown or alien terrain, colored white with black highlights, was now fully black, with white highlights, and that’s ignoring the damage the suit has taken. Scorch marks and tears are prevalent throughout the jumpsuit, damaged tremendously. But all that wasn’t even the most worrying part of what the boy saw. If Danny looked closely, he could see parts of himself fading in and out of view, seemingly turning invisible. The boy looked to Sam to ask if she’s seeing what he is, only for the boy to fall from her grip. He goes to catch himself, but his hand goes through the floor, causing the boy to fall face first.
“I found it! Dammit, this thing is Heavy, Sam, give me a hand!”
Danny pushed himself to his knees, his hand feeling solid again after he pulled it out of the floor. He turned to Sam again, pleading with his eyes to make sure he’s not crazy. The Goth girl’s eyes were as wide as saucers, staring at Danny with worry and fear. So it’s not just the concussion, Something was wrong with him. He motions with his head to go help tucker, wincing as even that much movement caused the boy tremendous pain. Sam looks hesitant, but rushes over to the boy anyways. Danny sits back on his heels, looking at his reflection, and then down at his hands. What did he do? The teen’s hands began to shake, pain and fear coursing through him, and something new began to push to the surface, causing the snowy haired boy even more distress. His hands began to glow ominously green, Danny balled his hands into tight fists, holding them close to his body, urging the power his body is seemingly trying to release back, he was momentarily successful, before an entirely new sensation began to well up in him, too fast for the boy to contain. Danny Screamed. Harsh green vibrations crashed into the wall, shattering the mirror, and concaving the wall behind it, and the ceiling above him as the boy lifted his head and fell onto his back. If his friends were shouting, if the door opened, he couldn’t tell, he thinks his ear drums erupted. His throat feels rawer than it’s ever felt in his life. Despite everything, The boy pushed himself to his feet again, ignoring the screaming in his limbs. His eyes drifted to the portal. It was on. Terrible green energy dancing in the hole where Danny was once standing, casting a haunting glow throughout the room, dancing with the red of the emergency lights to become an image that’ll haunt him forever. Danny took one step, and then another towards the portal, before rings of light surrounded him, the boy flinched, expecting pain as it passed through him, but when he opened his eyes, all he saw was his jumpsuits hands, back to the same matte black they were before the accident. Exhaustion filled the boy, his bones suddenly as heavy as lead. Danny looked up at the portal again, tears welling up in his eyes, his voice barely above a whisper, and even that hurt.
“What did you do to me?”
The boy was unconscious before he hit the floor, just as his parents and sister rushed downstairs.
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The Ghost Zone was an eerie place, defying all normal laws of reality and physics. The closest comparison that can be made would be outer space itself. Vast and empty everywhere you look, except for massive purple rocks, meteors and landscapes aimlessly floating around with no rhyme or reason. There is also, of course, The Doors. Most ghosts in the Ghost Zone have homes, personal slices of heaven that they created using their own imaginations, dubbed ‘realms’. These Realms are catered and designed by the ghosts themselves once they garner enough power and time within the Ghost Zone, The Doors that are seen floating across the realm are the entranceways to these Realms. Ghosts have total control over their own realm, deciding how it looks, how many rooms it has once inside, and if they garner enough power, can even become large enough that the entire realm can’t be accessed with a door alone. Becoming entire landmarks of the Ghost Zone, like Undergrowths Jungle, or Frostbite’s Far Frozen. For the most part, Ghosts were solitary. Almost never allowing other ghosts into their lairs, preferring to stick to themselves. There are, though, always Exceptions to the rules.
“C’mon, Em! I’m Booooooored! There’s gotta be something we can do!”
The green haired ghost girl lounged on Ember Mclain’s couch like a house-cat, her Red leather jacket abandoned, left draped over a stray chair, leaving the ghostly young woman in only a black crop-top, red-skirt, and green fishnet stockings. Her shoes abandoned by the door. Wormed her way over to the edge of the couch, popping open a single eye to show bright red Irises, staring at her ghostly friend with pleading eyes.
“It’s been like, Ages since we’ve had a girls night, just you and me! You could even decide what we do!”
Ember herself another ghostly young woman, she had fiery teal hair, styled in a ponytail. Black leather pants and a single-shouldered crop-top. She also had gray skull-esque boots, and a long black glove for her right arm, but her shoes are kicked off right now, near the door alongside her friends, and her glove was off too, thrown on a side-table for the time being. The ghostly woman snickered at her friend's complaints, and shook her head, continuing to strum on her guitar, which is colored purple with flaming decor the same shade as her hair.
“Hm, I dunno Kitty. How about, you go back and pester Johnny for attention, while I stay here and do what I was doing before you rudely barged into my realm?”
Ember laughed as Kitty groaned from her spot on the couch. Truthfully, it’s impossible for any ghost to ‘barge-in’ to another ghost’s realm. They need to be invited or given permission to enter, which Kitty has long since gotten, but that doesn’t mean the rocker won’t give her best friend grief.
“Plus, if you haven’t noticed, Kit-Kat, there’s Jack-Shit to do. Ding-dong ditch The Box Ghost? Count me out, Hun.”
Kitty rolled her eyes, sitting up properly, still looking at Ember.
“Well obviously not that, That guy’s weird. But there’s gotta be plenty of people we can prank! Klemper, Technus, oooh Penny! We could totally fuck with Penny, Em!”
Ember snorted, continuing to strum on her guitar, moving from song to song with no real rhyme or reason, some of them her own work, others some of her own personal favorite songs.
“You wanna know the last time we tried to get Penny to pull that stick out of her ass, Kitty? She psychoanalyzed you so badly that you didn’t leave you and Johnny’s Realm for like a month. And then I set her on fire. Overall it’s not an adventure I'd like to repeat. Plus, Klemper Kitty? really? Punching down low, much?”
That comment got a pillow thrown at her head, causing the fiery girl to laugh even louder, before finally looking at her exasperated friend.
“Really, Kit-Kat, what’s the deal all of a sudden, you and Johnny having another spat? If so you could’ve just opened with that. I’ll set him on fire.”
Kitty rolled her eyes, shaking her head, gesturing toward the pillow, ember snorted, and picked it up, handing it back to her friend. In which Kitty dramatically fell back into the couch, groaning loudly into the pillow.
“No, nothing like that. Plus why is your first response to problems always ‘set it on fire’. You’re a rockstar, not an arsonist!”
Ember turned her attention back to her guitar, playing some more music. Shifting from artist to artist with ease.
“Technically, I'd classify myself as a Rockstar Arsonist. Fire and Music are both equally important aspects of my ghostly existence, you know?”
Kitty opened her mouth to reply, when both of them froze. a chill ran up Embers spine, as the very air in the Ghost-Zone changed. Something was wrong. Different. Ember and Kitty made frantic eye-contact, both frozen, before Ember's realm Shook. Both girls screamed, diving for cover, as a shockwave tore through the entire Ghost Zone, knocking down knick-knacks, for a moment Ember was afraid her entire realm was coming apart at the seams. It felt like an eternity before the shaking stopped. Ember shakily got to her feet, slinging her guitar onto her back, moving to help kitty up onto her feet from where she was huddled.
“What the Fuck was that, Em?! I’ve never felt anything like that before.”
Ember doesn’t know what it is either, her and Kitty and Johnny have been in the ghost zone for roughly the same amount of time. Ember around longer than them, give or take a year or so. And Ember’s never experienced a massive event like that. Ember hurriedly grabbed and put on her boots, she didn’t have time to find her glove so she’ll have to do without it. The teal-haired ghost looked over at her friend, motioning for her to come to the door with her. Slowly, Ember opened the door to her lair, looking outside to the Ghost-Zone. Physically, it all looked the same. Endless green space for miles, purple doors and chunks of rock, with the only noticeable parts being that the rocks nearby were spinning slightly, knocked from their peaceful drift by the shockwave. And of course, there was the crying. Seemingly coming from everywhere, cries of the dead rang out into the abyss. Curses, shouts, and pained moans filled the air, adding to the disturbing atmosphere. Ember saw a number of spirits doing the same thing Ember was doing, looking out from their restful realms to see what all the ruckus was about. Kitty and Ember both heard Johnny 13 before they saw him, his Spectral Motorcycle heralding his approach. The ghostly older teen barely has time to park and hop off his bike in front of Embers Realm before Kitty throws herself into the shaggy Blond boys arms. Johnny 13 was a tall and slightly scraggly Ghostly boy, with shaggy blond hair and green eyes. Wearing a simple leather jacket with a white shirt underneath it, with black jeans, boots, and leather gloves. The only two pieces of accessories on him being a green necklace and a promise ring, one a gift from Kitty, and the other, the other half of a gift he gave to kitty, when they were both alive. The Biker ghost just seemed relieved that his girl was ok.
“Babe holy shit, You’re alright! What the fuck was that?!”
Kitty shook her head, seemingly unable to speak, only holding her boyfriend closer, Johnny caught Ember's eye, who was leaning against her door wearily.
“How’re you holding up, Em? What happened?”
Ember shrugged, and shook her head, watching as Johnny’s Shadow began to drift away from his form, stalking and patrolling the area, defending his master and his loved ones.
“I got no idea, John. one moment we’re talking about why pranking Penny’s a bad idea, next the entire place is shaking. Do you know anyone who could’ve caused that?”
The biker shook his head, as Kitty finally let go of him. The ghostly teen kept an arm on his girlfriend though, keeping her close.
“Nah, there’s some major freakshows in here, Undergrowth, Vortex, that weird Mummy guy? They’re all nothing to sneeze at but they couldn’t shake the bottle like whatever this was. I did see something new when I was driving here, though.”
Ember raised an eyebrow, even kitty looked at Johnny curiously, the Ghost pushed on with his explanation.
“I saw a new door. It looked different than anything I've seen before, it was closing as I drove by, and it didn’t look like it led into a new ghost realm. Do you guys remember hearing from older ghosts? About how sometimes there will be wild portals to the Living World? It looked like one of those inside that door. I’ve never been the brightest bulb, but even i can put two and two together.”
Ember chewed on her lip, crossing her arms, as Kitty gasped from next to him.
“Johnny, are you saying…?!”
Johnny nodded his head, looking left from right, to make sure they weren’t overheard.
“I think someone made a portal to the Ghost Zone. someone who’s Alive .”
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Somewhere in a laboratory underneath an isolated mansion hundreds of miles away from Amity Park, a device began to softly beep, interrupting the lone man working on a workbench. The man grabbed a towel and wiped sweat from his brow, running his hand through silvery gray hair. The man pushed himself away from his workbench, sliding in his chair over to where the monitoring device was beeping. The older man picked up the device, examining it for a moment, before snorting. And tossing it back down, deactivating it. He stood up, stretching with a groan, walking over to a desk in the corner, sitting heavily on the chair nearby, and grabbing a framed picture, depicting 3 different people. One of those was the man when he was younger, his hair far darker than it is now. The other 2 being a man and a woman, The Man was taller and heavier-set than his companion, with hair just as dark as his friend, The Woman was shorter than the both of them, with bright ginger hair. All 3 of them were grinning, in front of a small, miniature Portal. The man ran a hand over the picture, smiling wistfully. Before he sighed, and put it down.
“I always expected this to happen, And the day has finally come. Well, I'm not one to be caught unprepared. I’ll be seeing you soon, Jack, Maddie.”
The man stood up from his desk, turning to the crown jewel of his Laboratory, a Portal, Just like the one in Fentonworks. The man picked up and pressed a button, and the doors to the Portal opened with a hiss, revealing swirling Blue energy. As he opened the Portal, Black halo’s of light encircled his form, traveling up and down his body, changing his form. Where once stood a tall, in-shape older man, was now an even taller, muscular being. With Black hair and white highlights, Wearing a white suit with black highlights, along with a white with red linings. The now Ghostly older man pocketed the button, and cracked his neck and knuckles, before flying into the portal.
“I Wonder what Skulker’s up to these days…”