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It was no secret amongst the inhabitants of the ghost zones that on Halloween, the divide between the realms of the living and dead were thin. The ghosts could visit the land of the living, and for once, they wouldn’t be ushered away. In fact, if they were scary enough, they could even get free candy.
Danny knew this wasn’t the exact truth – in Amity Park, where the ectoplasmic concentration was higher than average, ghosts visited the land of the living all the time. But he was still extra vigilant for Halloween. Last time, he messed it up by summoning the Fright Knight. This time, it would take place during a new moon, when the night would be darkest and a ghost would be strongest. With living people in creepy costumes and cosplay, anything could go wrong.
“Hey, nice claws. They almost look real.”
“My, what sharp teeth you have!”
“That scythe looks dope! SO creepy.”
Luckily, Danny’s ghost sense could help him tell apart living people from dead ones. So he took it upon himself to patrol extra vigilantly on Halloween night, to protect the living people from the dead ones. Sam and Tucker were upset at first, but Tucker decided that it was possible to patrol and go trick or treating at the same time.
“Listen, guys. We’re still patrolling; we’re just taking candy breaks on the way! And besides, if we dress up for Halloween, we’ll blend right in!”
Danny found himself agreeing – he wouldn’t even have to pretend to be home after curfew if he told his parents he was trick or treating.
Halloween was Sam’s favorite holiday of the year – she loved all things occult, candy, and costumes. She always had the scariest costume of the three, but this year she opted for a more expensive cosplay.
“Holy crap your Mikasa Ackerman costume looks dope! Very on-brand for you, Sam,” Using the Manson Money™ that she rarely flaunted, Sam had purchased highly detailed props – Danny wouldn’t be surprised if the Vertical Maneuver Gear that was part of Sam’s look would actually work just like on the show. While Mikasa’s color scheme wasn’t as gothic as Sam would have liked, the character was moody and independent – just like Sam.
“Thanks Tucker! You really outdid yourself with your costume this year!” Tucker’s ‘costume’ wasn’t cosplay like Sam’s, but he was wearing an oversized suit that made him look taller than he really was, with fake arms attached. Tucker’s head was “held” by the suit’s fake arms, making it look like a decapitated person was walking around with their own head in their hands. The fake neck on top of Tucker’s suit still smelled like ketchup.
“Why aren’t you in costume yet, Danny?” The two friends had arrived at Danny’s house at the same time, waiting for him to finish changing so that they could go out “patrolling” the best candy routes together.
“I am now,”
Danny covered himself with a white sheet, with just two holes for eyes.
“I knew this would happen. Listen, I have a spare Ghostbuster’s costume at my house.”
“But Sam!” Danny protested. “If I need to go ghost, the sheet can hide my transformation!”
“That’s no excuse for poor effort on the best holiday of the year. You can still keep the sheet for if you need to go Phantom, but I’ll be damned if you don’t have fun as Fenton, too.”
The three made a detour to Sam’s house, with Tucker complaining that lost time was lost candy along the way. Luckily, they hadn’t lost much time – it wasn’t too dark yet, and the trick or treaters had only just started trickling into the neighborhoods.
“Trick or Treat! Smell my feet! Give me something good to eat!”
The three friends combed through the neighborhood, getting nearly full buckets and some prized candy bars along the way. At first, Tucker was worried that the houses would perceive them as “too old” for trick or treating – but once it was obvious that people much older than the trio were also out trick or treating, he began to relax and enjoy himself with the rest of his friends.
Danny, though he was enjoying himself, was too busy keeping his guard up. Especially now, when it was darker out. His core hummed with extra energy – he felt the extra power bubble underneath his skin, and stretched his senses out as far as he could. His hearing, his sight, his awareness, his ghost sense. Suddenly, he felt a chill crawl up his spine, just as he saw a group of trick or treaters walk by. Ghosts – they all were.
“Sorry guys, I’ll be right back.”
Danny unfolded the white sheet and covered himself, turning into his ghost form before turning invisible and flying out. Just as the suspicious group of Halloween goers turned the corner, Danny approached them from above.
“Fancy seeing you out here, in your not so fancy outfits.”
It was Ember, a couple others in lazy ghost blanket sheet costumes, and –
“Aw c’mon!”
“Youngblood?”
The child ghost was the same as he always looked, dressed up as a pirate.
“We weren’t planning to, but the kiddo really wanted to come out,” Ember responded.
“I promise I’m not gonna cause any trouble, I just really wanted to celebrate Halloween and get some candy!”
And that resonated with Danny, a little. He just wanted to enjoy himself, but he was on duty protecting all the humans from a threat they didn’t even know to look out for. And, by the looks of all the ghosts, a threat that probably wouldn’t manifest, at least tonight. Danny sighed.
“Look, if you promise not to cause any trouble for anyone – no damage, no ghost powers, no whatever – and you just do normal trick or treating like a human would, I suppose I can let you go.”
It had been a few months since he’d last won against Ember, Youngblood, Kitty, and Johnny 13. A few months since they’d bother to cause trouble for Danny. They weren’t so bad all the time, and once they reached an understanding, they went from evil to annoying at worst.
“Oh thankyouthankyouthankyou ghost boy!” Youngblood floated up to give Danny a hug.
“Remember! No ghost powers!”
“Oh right!” Youngblood floated down, giving Danny a hug around his legs.
Not all ghosts would be willing to reach an understanding, but Danny would maintain an alliance with the ones that did.
The ghosts returned to their trick or treating route; Danny should head back to Sam and Tucker, before –
“Hey, Fenton,” Danny hears a familiar nasally voice behind him.
“Hey…Kyle,”
“Dude, nice Halloween costume,” The lanky teen complimented. “Nice glowing aura effect. And the flying part! Totally jealous.”
Kyle wasn’t alone. He was with his younger brother – and Danny’s classmate – Wes Weston. They were both dressed as… Danny Phantom.
“We couldn’t figure out how to get the flying part down,”
“Yeah, no kidding,” Danny delivered a knowing smile at Wes, who glared in return.
“Kyle, he got ‘the flying part’ down because it’s not a trick. Because he’s actually a ghost, you know?!”
“What are you talking about? Everyone knows ghosts aren’t real.”
“Augh! He’s floating right in front of you!”
“He’s obviously using strong magnets to – oh, he’s gone,” Danny had turned invisible, to return back to his friends. While the Weston brothers amused him, he had enough of them for one night.
The town was ignorant of the ghosts that lurked alongside them. Sometimes that ignorance was bliss, like tonight on Halloween, where any ghost can pass as human. And sometimes, that ignorance was… willful. Maybe it’s for the best that no one believes either of the Westons.