Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Danny was out looking for the specks again. Those little feathery green-blue specks were driving him mad. Whatever they were, they weren’t ghosts or at least his ghost sense didn’t go off around them. He hadn’t been able to get a good look at any one of them, their speed a match for his own. The little creatures were crafty too, leading him away from others when he got too close. He swore they could also go through walls. So could he, but he still had no luck catching them. If they got out of his sight for a moment they were as good as gone. No doubt hiding in minuscule nooks and crannies he would never think to check. They hadn’t been doing anything overtly evil but the fact is that he had no idea what they were doing. He’d seen them mostly around the homes of children which was definitely a worrying sign. The most unsettling part was that they didn’t suddenly arrive; he simply started noticing them.

No one else saw them. When describing the little buggers to Sam and Tucker, fellow experiencers of the weird and wild it almost seemed like they were coming up with excuses not to believe him and even convince him that he was deluded. As if he would’ve confused the things for birds. There were certainly similarities. Feathers, chirping sounds and wings. Though the wings were closer to that of a dragonfly’s. They were also intelligent and co-ordinated, to the point it seemed like they shared one mind. His friends hadn’t seen anything like he explained and it didn’t seem like anyone else in Amity Park did either. Their eyes found him but never what he was chasing. He’d even been asked about it a few times.

He’d been chasing them most night’s when he got off work, though ghosts actively causing damage took priority, and of course homework. He couldn’t afford to flounder when his social worker was regularly checking up on him and beyond that was Vlad, just waiting for Danny to screw up so he could swoop in and ‘save the day’ by taking him in. He had a year and a half before he only had to worry about the illegal sort of kidnapping. The stress from that meant he was on high alert for anything out of the ordinary before it became a town wide problem or otherwise a major hassle for himself. As he got stronger and was able to beat his enemies back easier many of them got sneakier.

However, the more he thought about it the surer he was that the specks had little to do with the ghosts. The specks seem to flee from the ghosts, though not him, unless he paid them any attention. He’s even tried ignoring them and trying to drift closer. That was how he got any details on them at all. They got wise to this method before he could think of setting traps. Lately they started looking more defined even at a distance, which made him question if it wasn’t some elaborate mirage. The purpose either being to trick him or perhaps hide them and it was failing the longer he pursued them. He wanted to believe he was getting closer to the answers. It had been weeks.

Danny was nearing the city limits as the sun started to rise. Having already wasted most of his night on a pointless search he decided to head for home. His apartment was a bit far from the city centre but one of the perks of being able to fly was that commute times and gas prices were a none issue. Being fairly resistant to physical damage also meant that he didn’t worry about being in a crime infested area. All and all his tiny, broken down, hole in the wall place still seemed like a bargain. He came up to his window, ready to head in for the night when he heard the sound of frantically beating wings arrive below him. Danny froze, going invisible and tilting his head downward. In front of his neighbour’s window, the home a young woman by the name of Christie and her young sister Charlotte was a speck, but at this distance he could see it was much more. It looked like some kind of hummingbird fairy hybrid, with the long, thin nose and iridescent feathers. It had a chest of yellow on its head and a ring of it around it’s neck. The creature was gripping a quarter that was two thirds it’s size in it’s tiny, human like hands. Danny watched, not daring to breath as it slipped under the window opened just a few inches. He followed slowly and carefully into what turned out to be Charlotte’s room.

Charlotte was sleeping peacefully in her bed, the creature making its way steadily over. Alarms were going off in Danny’s head. He did not want to know what would happen if it reached her. He crept up behind it, bringing his hands up above and below it. Normally, even if invisible the specks would notice him this close but this one’s focus was apparently elsewhere. Just as it reached the foot of her bed Danny snapped his hands closed, caging it. Immediately it started squeaking and digging into his palm with its sharp nose. Somehow the banging of its pinkie nail sized fists was the most uncomfortable and disconcerting part. As the squeaking got louder Charlotte groaned and turned over. It made him wonder. It seemed entirely possible that children were the only ones to see or hear them. After all, a child explaining that little flying creatures come into their rooms at night wouldn’t be considered very believable and he wouldn’t have heard about it. Danny was just an exception, as always. He hoped that if he brought the thing directly in front on them his friends might be too. Before the high-pitched noises could wake the kid Danny phased through the ceiling into his apartment. He was all too happy to push the angry little burden into a phase proof box he’d ‘borrowed’ from his parents and de-transformed once his hands were free. It was clear, allowing Danny his best view yet. He brought it up to face and found himself looking into humanlike purple eyes. Other than the nose it had quite a human looking face and shape as well and even proportionally tiny hands and feet that could’ve stood on the tip on a pin. It wasn’t making noise anymore, instead hovering in the one spot and looking him over with equal fascination.

“What are you?”

It tilted its head and gave a little chirrup.

“Right. Whatever that means.”

Danny, placed the box on the counter top and pulled out his phone, never taking his eyes off it and it returning his gaze. He texted Sam and Tucker to come over, saying he’d finally caught something. While he waited he could have made a cup of tea, read a book or at least sat down but he felt like he couldn’t break this impromptu staring contest.

“Whatever you and your pals are planning with those kids, you won’t be getting away with it.”

The creature’s face scrunched up in obvious anger and it gave him what were no doubt some very mean-spirited tweets. It might’ve been upset at Danny get in the way of its plans but he got the feeling it was more offended that anything else. He wasn’t sure where to go from here, so used to his enemies monologuing at him or at the very least being easy to put away once caught. The box might have been phase proof for a ghost but he was reasonably concerned that it might not stop this creature. So he kept an eye on it and nothing else for the next half hour until his friends arrived.

“Hey guys.” He called, when they unlocked the door and came in.

“Ok Danny, let’s see this supposed cyrtid. You’ve got me excited.” Said Sam

“In the box.” He said, pointing.

“…Is it invisible?”

Danny frowned and the creature’s lip curled to one side.

“You can’t see it then.”

“Are…you ok?” Asked Tucker.

Tucker went to wave his hand in front of Danny’s face but he caught it immediately, refusing to have his gaze blocked from the box for a moment.

“I think only young kids can see them. Plus, me.”

“You’ve always been a kid at heart, and in stature.”

Danny punched him in the arm without looking.

“This isn’t good, guys. I don’t know what they’re up to, other than that it probably involves young children and even if this guy was willing to tell me anything it only seems to speech in chirps.”

“Danny.” Said Sam, coming to rest a hand on his shoulder. “Are you sure you aren’t just…stressed?”

“I’m incredibly stressed Sam, as usual. I’m not crazy though, or at least there’s a chance I’m not and so I can’t ignore this.”

“Ok…what do you want us to do?”

Danny sighed.

“Fuck if I know.”

The creature started up a series of disgruntled chirps in response.

“Do you…not like swearing or something?”

A brighter chirp. Definitely an affirmative.

“Maybe we can do yes or no questions.” He said, placing his chin onto his fist.

“I brought some books with me.” Said Sam, dumping her pack on the kitchen counter and leaning against it. “Give me a description.”

Danny proceeded to tell her every little detail of what he could see and she threw out suggestions, but none of them quite seemed to fit.

“Does it have webbed feet?”

Danny leaned close to the box again.

“I think…it might be wearing little shoes?”

“Do they match the feathers? Cute.” Said Tucker.

“Here. Look at this one Danny.” Said Sam, shoving the book at him. He barely glanced at the page before fixing his eyes on the box again, but that was enough. The creature was gone.

“No, no!” he yelled, looking around frantically.

“Danny, what is it?!”

“It’s gone! I only looked away for a half a second.”

“I thought the box was phase proof?” Said Tucker, looking around the room nervously despite not having being able to see the creature at all.

“Except it’s not a ghost.”

Danny ran to the window while Sam dug under the couch cushions and checked any small crevices. 

He spied a speck of green outside and went for it, transforming and phasing though the window with a quick “I-see-it-bye.”

Danny immediately put on a burst of speed, racing after the thing. He wouldn’t let it get away. It tried to bring him around buildings and through trees in the park but thankfully stayed out of kid’s bedrooms. When he was close enough to make out the decorative yellow feathers he let loose a small ectoblast. It just missed, but the heat must have damaged its tail feathers anyway and the creature made an uncontrolled dive onto the nearest roof. It ducked underneath the shadows of a water tower and Danny flew straight at it, lighting a hand with an ecto-energy.

By the time he noticed the standing figure it was too late. He went crashing into them, rolling until his back hit a metal beam. He groaned as he felt something crack.

“That was quite the tumble.” Said a feminine voice beside him.

Danny quickly scrambled upright and stood, leaning against the leg of the water tower. Before him was a much larger version of the creature he’d been following. It-she? slowly pulled herself into a sitting position, dusting off her feathers.

“Who are you?” he said.

She smiled at him kindly.

“Why, I’m the tooth fairy.”

Danny gaped at her. Suddenly a lot of things were making sense but he had so many more questions. He figured it best to get the important one out of the way first.

“So, just to be clear. You and your minions are delivering quarters in exchange for teeth, which is admittedly super weird as a concept, but you aren’t planning anything malicious here?”

“Oh, of course not!” she replied. She seemed so genuine and charming. It was hard for Danny to believe she was some evil genius. “Will you give me your hand?” she asked, raising hers.

“Yeah, uh. Sure thing.” Said Danny, helping her up.

He relaxed his grip, but she didn’t let go. Somehow he had trouble pulling his hand back, or he didn’t want to? She leaned in close, batting her eyes at him.

“Say…you know who I am, but what’s your name?”

“It’s Danny. Danny Phantom.”

“Danny then.” As she said his name Danny felt a pulse of energy go through him. It was like for a moment he was pushed outside his own body, before being sucked back in. He stumbled back against the leg of the water tower and she followed him, tightening her grip on his hand.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you. How did you like my gift?”

“Gift?

“The feathers? You remember getting them.”

“I remember waking up a few times with some in my hair…I think?”

“That sounds good. So, what did you think of them?”

Danny stared at her, quickly losing track of the conversation. He was feeling more than a little unsettled but he couldn’t figure out quite what was causing it.

“Your feathers are pretty, I guess. Uh, thank you?”

“Oh, you’re welcome. You’ll be paying me back of course. Though maybe that’s not quite the right way to phrase it...”

“…What?”

“-Since you basically handed yourself over to me and I can do whatever I want with you.”

Dread dropped into his stomach light a lead weight.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He said, trying to pull away.

“That’s enough of that, Danny Phantom.” She said and his body instantly locked up in response. She let out a chuckle. “Of course you don’t know. Or it wouldn’t have been this easy.”

Anxiety clogged his throat. He had no idea what was happening, yet somehow he knew he’d already lost.

“What…what are you going to do with me?”

She gave him a gracious smile and that somehow scared him more than anything. Then she released his hand and stepped back. It meant nothing. He still couldn’t move; could barely breathe.

She clapped her hands together.

“I’m going to give you a job!”

Chapter Text

The tooth fairy looked at him, pleased as punch and expectant, as if she anticipated him sharing in her joy.

“I already have a job.” He said, feebly.

“I pay better! Also, you don’t have a choice.”

Something about that didn’t sound right to him, aside from the obvious.  

“Do you…actually know how much I get paid?”

This time the smile she gives him is all teeth, like the cat that caught the canary.

“Daaaaaany. It’s not a coincidence you’re up here tonight.”. A bright chirp came from the shadows before the small creature he’d been chasing alighted onto the tooth Fairy’s shoulder, looking no worse for wear. “My girls are tough, aren’t they?”

He’d been had. Just how much had she looked into him if she knew such a minute detail? A whine threatened to escape his throat as he thought over just how long this trap was being laid. Obviously before he’d caught the tiny fairy. He should’ve realised just how easy that was after chasing them for so long. A bone chilling thought occurred to him. What if the only reason he noticed them in the first place was because they wanted him to?

“First order of business. Danny Phantom, open your mouth.”

Danny instantly opened his mouth even as he tried to fight it. Even as the rest of him shook in fear. Normally even tied down he could resist; he could struggle. This time he was more like a puppet on strings. Any utterance of his name left him limp but for where the strings expertly tugged his individual pieces.

She brought her hands to his mouth and peered inside. Her fingers brushed along some parts and pressed into others. The sharpness of his fangs was tested with a tapping against a nail as his tongue was held down with a pinkie. It was several minutes before she pulled back, pushing his mouth closed as she did so. Danny immediately jumped back, bumping his back against a leg of the water tower.

“They’re not bad.” She said, as if trying to kindly tell him a piece of bad news. “Some wearing and obviously a little high on the sugar intake. Do you grind your teeth?”

“I-I don’t know. Maybe?”

“It’s a terribly damaging habit. Don’t worry, we’ll work on that.”

Danny brought a hand over his mouth, feeling the need to guard it. He was thankful she hadn’t expressed any interest in taking his teeth at least.

He looked behind him to the edge of the roof. He was fast, but the fairies had proven to be faster and all she needed to do to stop him was tell him to. He turned back, only to screech at the tiny fairy that had silently gotten close enough to brush his cheek with its pointy nose.

“She’s just getting a better look at you.” Placated the tooth fairy. “You spent so long staring at her after all.”

“Just-back off.” he said, leaning away.

“You’d better join the others and complete your rounds while we finish talking.”

The little fairy spent several more moments giving him a blank eyed stare before it suddenly zipped away, off into the night.

“The night is nearly over, so I’ll make this brief. Tomorrow I’ll meet you at your home, same time, and we’ll discuss what you’ll be doing. You won’t need to pack anything or prepare in any way. Oh, you will need to quit your current job at some point.” She said, before flying off at a speed that definitely outclassed Danny’s. In moments she was no bigger than the specks he’d been chasing.

It was only then he could breathe easy. He felt lightheaded, dazed and so very tired. With no better ideas he decided to just head home. On his way over he spotted Sam and Tucker searching the streets for him and made a beeline for them instead. He stumbled as he returned to human form and his friends were by his side supporting him right away.

“Danny, dude. What happened?” Asked Tucker.

Danny puzzled over that for a moment before he started shaking with laughter. His friends shared a look before setting their concerned gazes on him. It took a full two minutes to get himself under control.

“Sorry-just. That was terrifying, and then I thought about what actually happened. Apparently the tooth fairy now owns my ass. I start work tomorrow night.”

“Ok, definitely gonna need you to expand on that.” Said Sam.

“Well, I ran into this woman that was like a human sized version of the things I’ve been seeing. We talked, introduced ourselves. She said she was the tooth fairy. She was all friendly at first but then she suddenly turned creepy. Then it was like…she took control of me. I don’t know how and I couldn’t fight back at all. She says I work for her now. She’s coming back for me tomorrow.”

“So, the tooth fairy is apparently real and she gave you a side hustle?” Asked Tucker

“Actually, she says I’ll have to quit my other job.”

Sam had her head in her hands.

“My gosh, Danny. How could you do everything wrong in the span of a few minutes? She could’ve spirited you away as soon as she had your name. She still can!”

“Excuse me for not assuming that just introducing myself was a fatal mistake.”

“Did she give you her name when she introduced herself?”

“She called herself the tooth fairy.”

“Sounds more like a title. She completely played you.” Said Tucker.

“That’s not the half of it. She pretty much spelled out that this was a trap from the beginning. I have no idea how long it was planned.”

“This is so bad, Danny.” Said Sam “All I know about fairies is that you’re basically screwed now.”

“Yeah Sam, even my dumb ass understands that. This is a typical Wednesday though, right? We’ll work this out?”

Danny looked at his friends with hope. Sam started chewing a fingernail. Tucker put an arm around his shoulder.

“We got this. Whether non-dead monsters are coming for you or you just need more sleep.” Said Tucker.

“Are you kidding? Do you still not believe me?”

“Of course I do! It’s just…the tooth fairy?” Said Tucker, giving a weak shrug.

“Like you said, there’s a chance you’re not crazy. Though at this point, I’d really prefer if that was the case. Why did you even give her your name? Why not just go with Phantom?” Said Sam.

“I did. Danny Phantom.”

“That…shouldn’t have worked. A fairy needs your true name. Maybe Danny would give her partial control?”

“That was partial control?” Danny’s voice nearly cracked.

“Unless we’re missing something.”

“Wait a second. If she’s had eyes on me for even just the last week or so there’s no way she wouldn’t know my name, right? You guys call me Danny. The reporters call me Danny Phantom or just Phantom. Hell, she might have access to my bank records. Why even ask me?”

"The hell? The tooth fairy is a hacker?" Said Tucker.

“I’m no fairy expert. Still, I might have some books on them or at least some protection spells at home.” Said Sam

Tucker groaned.

“And here I thought I could continue to avoid your creepy library. I guess this means we’re hitting the books?”

“What are the chances of us finding something useful before tomorrow night?” Said Danny.

“Very slim.” Said Sam grimly.

“Hey, I’ve got an idea. Let’s scan them in. Do a term search.” Said Tucker.

“I don’t know how well that’ll go, especially since they aren’t all in pristine condition and many aren’t in English.”

“I’ll hook up some auto-translate. There’s no time for lengthy discussions about what this or that particular phrase could be interpreted as. We’ll just have to brute force this.”

“Sounds like a plan. Ok, we’ll sneak into Sam’s.” Said Danny

“And I’ll just tell my parents I headed off to school earlier if they check on me. Not even technically a lie.”

Danny grabbed both his friends and flew them to Sam’s. She directed him to her reading room and once arrived, immediately started taking books off the shelves and placing them in a pile. Tucker set to work on creating a database and connected a translation program. Danny meanwhile did some preliminary internet searching. There was of course lots of information but little way to find out what might be from a credible source or what a credible source would even look like. At least the books purported to be written by people that had had direct dealings with fairies or believed they did, whatever that was worth. As soon as the first page was scanned it Danny started searching through that. Sam and Tucker continued to scan in the rest of the relevant passages until they were all entered and then joined Danny is scrolling through. Time wasn’t on their side and as the sun rose and Danny’s anxieties grew he considered just skipping school. He couldn’t really afford to. Especially not if it wasn’t an immediate emergency, nor did he want to get his friends in trouble. At least it was easy to bring the texts with them.

The three remained glued to their phones every spare moment in the school day and in class when they could manage it, searching for any defence or advantage. Luckily Danny could essentially do whatever he wanted in class as the teachers never seemed to notice him anymore. They seemed to have entirely given up on him, despite his more concerted efforts in school since his emancipation. With the tooth fairy’s return weighing on his mind Danny only had increasing resentment for the fact he had to go to school at all. There always seemed to be some new crisis that needed his attention and the obligations of being Danny Fenton seemed to grate on him more as time went on. He didn’t wish for something as grandiose as time for hobbies but sometimes he couldn’t help thinking that faking his death would make ‘life’ so much easier. Of course logic would then encroach on his dark fantasy and he’d remind himself he does need a legal identity to pay for food and a roof over his head. Plus, it would be harder to hang out with his friends in public. Though, if the tooth fairy wasn’t just messing him and she really did pay better than his current job the first two things might be non-issues.

By the end of the day, they didn’t have much. Just some cheap four-leaf clover necklaces for Sam and Tucker; the real plant supposedly able to reveal and repel fairies and two iron pokers nicked from Sam’s house; the closest they had to weaponry. There were lots of herbs said to help ward against fairies and Sam ordered them online express delivery, but they wouldn’t arrive by nightfall.

He and Tucker were waiting for Sam at his apartment, Sam having to sneak out after making a show of telling her parents she was going to bed early. They were using their last hours of daylight to go through the digitised books in more detail, hoping to find a hidden ace at the last minute.

“Hey, so apparently you can stop a fairy abduction by holding onto grass because they can’t sever it. Will all sincerity my dude, touch some grass.” Said Tucker, looking to Danny from across the couch.

“Sounds fake, but so does the rest of it. She’s coming here though and there’s a distinct lack of grass here on the ninth floor.”

Danny found it nice that Tucker wasn’t catastrophising like him or Sam, though his skepticism induced flippancy was beginning to get a little grating. Any other time he’d happily joke along with his friend but they weren’t dealing with ghosts now and every minute that ticked on only brought him more dread over how woefully under-prepared they were.

“We could camp out in the park. Maybe she won’t even find you!”

“With the creepy little army of mini hers all around town? I doubt that. Anyway, it’s good that we know where and when she’s gonna be. I won’t able to hide for long and I can’t run so the only option left is to wreck her shit so she won’t come back. I don’t know how much help I’ll be because…oh man! Oh hell I’m such an idiot!”

“What?”

“She can take control of me. She can make me attack you guys!”

“Oh, man. Right, what about the thermos?”

“It’s not enough.” Danny jumped up. “Stay here. I’m headed to Fentonworks. Be back as soon as I can.”

“Yep. I’ll be here…where the invisible magic woman is due to show up soon.”

Danny transformed and flew to Fentonworks at stop speed, the ops bright glowing sign coming into view in minutes. Just the sight had his teeth clenching and ghostly glow flickering. When he lived there Danny had never given thought to how seeing one’s home was not meant to make a person slow their pace, to think up any excuse that would keep them away a little longer. It wasn’t a safe haven, but more like a place he was bound to. It still felt somewhat like that, even though he thought of it less since moving out. He tried to make his trips back few and far between which was probably why he hadn’t had any ghosts bother him in the last two days. The thermos was nearly full. Would but he could just leave them in there and be done with it, but having experienced the vacuum cramped sensory deprivation chamber he was aware that it wasn’t a fate he could bestow on anyone other than that one terrible exception. He flew straight into the basement and glanced around for weapon options.

The smell always got him first. Ectoplasm was heady in the air, even with the portal closed and all the glowing experiments mostly tucked away. It wasn’t what bothered him, being partially made of the stuff and getting covered in it on a daily basis. Once he would notice it in the lab though, it wasn’t long before he before he picked up an undercurrent of something burnt. Then his skin would start to tingle and then itch. From there it would get bad enough for him to start leaving green tinged red streaks on his stomach and arms as he got the increasing desire to claw away his own skin. It was especially bad in human form. If he stayed too long he’d go for his eyes and that usually snapped him out of it.

He wasn’t sure if the lessened exposure made tonight worse or that he only noticed it more. Uncomfortable tingles ran through him almost as soon as he entered. He radiated a chill and kept his hands clenched to try and combat it. Moments after he heard a crackling of electricity and swooped downward to avoid a Fenton themed cattle prod that popped out of the ceiling. Suddenly the basement was alight with spots of green as various guns took aim at him. Danny sighed, flying over to the wall adjacent to the stairs, blasting a glowing net on his way and dropping into a roll as he transformed back into a human. He slammed his hand onto the barely visible hand pad and tapped it to disarm. The basement returned to darkness all but a moment before the overhead lights were flicked on and the whine of a charging ecto-gun came from beside him. The shot went wide and Danny barely had to move his neck to avoid it. He turned to face his father whose gun clattered to the floor upon seeing his face.

“Danny! Sorry I-I didn’t know it was you!”

“It’s cool. I did set the alarm off.”

Jack eyed the smoking remains of the net on the floor.

“We’ve been trying to work out how to program ecto-signatures into our equipment but it’s uh, slow going. In the mean time we’ve just heightened the required ectoplasmic density to activate.”

“You could leave it. I mean, it’s not good if my usual rogues gallery gets free reign of the place and I’m not really watching it anymore so…”

They stared at each other a moment. Danny had to constantly resist the urge to scratch now.

“…How’ve you been son?”

“The usual. I’m just here for some tech if that’s cool. I may as well empty the thermos while I’m here.”

“Of course. You know, you don’t have to sneak in.”

Danny shrugged.

“I wasn’t really thinking about it. Most of the time I need something urgently and don’t have time to ask.”

“You can take whatever you need, Danno. Are you in trouble?”

“It’s nothing me, Sam and Tucker can’t handle.”

He looked like a kicked puppy at that but instead of arguing the point he walked over to the weapons vault.

“What’d y’need?”

“Light stuff. It’s mainly for Sam and Tucker.”

Danny went over to the portal and put the thermos in the dispenser, flushing all the recently caught ghosts. Only when he capped it did he notice the bloody scratch on his hand. He needed to leave soon. No sense in scratching himself up when his new boss and her sharp-nosed minions would probably do it for him. Jack came back with a small handful of blasters and specter deflectors. Danny wished it would’ve been that easy to stop him. He stepped into the vault himself, cringing as he picked some of the more heavy-duty stuff, including a taser half the size of his head and the bazooka for good measure. Between the sound metal clinking together Danny swore he could hear a very distant scream. He shook his head. Danny came out with his arms full, gesturing for his father to add his selections on top. It was a shame most of his parents’ inventions were just as hazardous to walls and furniture as they were to ghosts. Of course, he’d take a hole through his torso and a vaporised couch any day if it meant his friends would be safe. It was a good thing his arms were full as the desire to tear into himself was getting very distracting and his nose was clogged up with that horrible burning smell.

Jack scanned over the pile with a frown.

“That’s a lot of fire power.”

“It’s precautionary.”

“If you need help-”

“-I have it. Sam and Tucker always have my back.”

His father looked to the floor, his brow furrowed and teeth clenched.

“…Look, if something major happens I’m not gonna say no to an extra hand. Just wait for me to ask, ok? Well, if there’s a town wide invasion feel free to pitch in.” Said Danny.

Jack let out a sigh.

“Sure thing, son.”

“So…I’m gonna go. Sorry for waking you up.”

Danny didn’t wait for a reply as he transformed and flew out of Fentonworks with the weapons. He must’ve scraped himself somewhere else without realising it, as his right arm and glove were slick, making carrying the pile precarious. As he got further away the phantom sensations started to fade. He took deep breathes through his nose of the night air and listened intently to wind whistling in his ears. This time was definitely worse than usual but he took it as a good sign that being around his father hardly bothered him. Though, in a messed-up kind of way he was more used to being shot at than not and that probably eased the usual tension he felt about what he should expect and the hyper awareness over what form he was in around his parents.

When he didn’t see them regularly it was too easy to see them as strangers. They were the rumbling and explosive noises from the basement he no longer slept above; the stray shots that would chase him away after a ghost fight. They were his parents, but Danny hadn’t looked to them for guidance or comfort in a long time. After recovering from one of their nastier inventions and breaking down in a tearful confession they finally saw him; they finally accepted him. Somehow, it didn’t make things better. Or rather, it didn’t fix things. Danny still felt unsafe in his own home. He still didn’t confide in his parents, if only because they couldn’t understand his reality and he felt no compulsion to try and make them. They apologised. They tiptoed around him. The stress and fear only compounded as he felt pressured for them to disappear.

Sam was the one that brought up his options, having considered them for herself due to her own restrictive and overbearing parents. Getting emancipated was one of the best things that had happened to him since his accident, even if it crushed his parents to agree to it. Luckily his big sister Jazz was always there to support him and convinced them on his behalf. He was sure he’d be comfortable being around them in short bursts at some point but that time was probably long into his adulthood after he’d dealt with some of his issues. He had even given thought to getting an appointment with his sister once she was a fully licensed psychiatrist. For now, he was glad to push all the difficult thoughts and feelings out of his mind as he tried to get through the next dangerous hassle and painstakingly get his shit together. His phased through his apartment window and dropped his burden on the kitchen counter. Sam and Tucker’s gazes snapped up from their phones at his entrance, Sam’s hand gripping the iron poker on her lap.

“That’s a big haul.” Said Tucker.

“It’s needed. If we’re lucky it’ll work on the tooth fairy too. Her mini-me dodged a blast from me and they do tend to avoid getting close to ghost fights.” Said Danny.

Danny tossed a wrist ray to each of them and they snapped in onto their wrists.

“I think we should stick to the iron and light weapons for now, but keep those close and either test a quick shot or just go for any openings with the bazooka.”

“Good call”

“So, are we making a game plan? Because I’m over looking through badly translated books probably written by swindlers or drug addicts.”

Sam punched him in the arm.

“These are from my library. They are as legit as you can get.” She said.

“I don’t doubt that.” Replied Tucker, rubbing his arm.

“He’s right though. We need a plan of attack. Probably should’ve thought this over earlier.” Said Danny.

Tucker shrugged.

“We don’t even usually have planning time. Hey, wait a second. Are you bleeding?”

Danny looked down at his arm. The blood along his elbow to wrist and on his waist was mostly green and slowly sinking back into his form, which meant he’d dug deep enough that it transferred over to ghost form but it had since closed up.

"Don't even worry about it, dude. It's already healed."

“If we have time we'll get you patched up. We’re do you think she’ll come from?” Asked Sam

“The window probably. I've only seen them going through open ones or hovering around them. Even if she can come from any direction like a ghost she won’t be able to see. I think that’s why the little ones always go through there. Still, it’s no guarantee.” Said Danny.

“Ok, why don’t we-”

Three polite knocks sounded on the front door.

Chapter Text

Danny jumped near five feet in the air at the sudden knocking on his front door. Sam stood up, strongly gripping her iron poker in one hand and placing the other on his shoulder.

“Danny?”

“I’m good.” He whispered, glancing to the door.

Sam nodded. She took up position to the side the door opens, readying her weapon like a bat. Tucker stood further back, holding the poker in one hand and aiming toward the front door with a wrist ray strapped to the other. Danny took a quick breath before floating over to the front door. He shared a look with Sam before throwing it open. She immediately started swinging, The Tooth Fairy avoiding the first swipe easily, but Sam was persistent. However, as she continued to swing back and forth along the hallway Danny had the dreaded realisation that his friends still couldn’t see the fairy.

“Good evening, Danny.” The Tooth Fairy said with a pleasant smile.

He immediately shot an ectoplasmic blast at her. She dodged, but Sam caught on, running back over to where Danny had shot and giving a swift strike, barely missing the fairy’s wing. The Tooth Fairy was unconcerned, easily dodging an uppercut from Danny and follow up swipe from Sam. She flew forward into Danny’s apartment and he backed up in response, heading for the bazooka on the kitchen counter. Tucker eyes were rapidly scanning for any sign of the enemy while he let loose a few shots just in front of where Sam was swinging, her hair wild and breathing hard.

Danny turned around with the bazooka in hand to see The Tooth Fairy beside Tucker. She eyed the lamp on the side table a moment before picking it up and knocking the poker out of Tucker’s hand with ease. Danny didn’t get the chance to line up a safe shot before she had spun ‘round and also knocked away Sam’s weapon, thoroughly smashing the lamp and dropping the pieces on the floor. The two crouched to the ground and scrambled for what was probably their only defense, but mini fairies had come from the corners and cracks at once and worked together to continually shift the weapons just out of their reach. Danny took the shot as his friends dropped down but just before it left the barrel the bazooka was jerked to the side, redirecting it right to his fridge that burst into sharp pieces. The force blew him back toward his friends and he dropped the weapon to put up a momentary shield for the debris.

As soon as it lowered The Tooth Fairy was in front of him.

“You have good friends.” she remarked with a sad smile and slightly wilted feathers around her face.  

She perked up in less than second, her yellow crest feathers ruffling upright again.

“Ready for your first night?” she said, hooking their elbows and pulling him toward the window.

“Danny!” Yelled Sam.

She and Tucker abandoning their search for their weapons as Danny was dragged past them.

“I don’t think so.” He said, phasing from the fairy's grip.

“Honestly…” She said, hands on hips. She raised a finger at him, as if lecturing a naughty child. “Danny Phantom, you are to leave with me, follow me and do your job as instructed this night.”

Danny was phasing outside before he even realised. He could hear his friends screaming for him. He desperately wanted to go to them but he had no control over his own body.

They flew across the city, just skirting the edge of roofs until they came to a more suburban area and The Tooth Fairy suddenly stopped above a small house.

She spun to him, a bright grin on her face.

“Are you ready? Haha! I’m so excited.” She squealed.

Danny was still duly terrified of her but in the face of her enthusiasm at dragging him who knows where in the middle of the night after stressing him out the entirety of yesterday his annoyance was starting to outweigh anything else.

“What’s this job then? You don’t actually hurt kids do you?”

“No, no. I already told you that I don’t. I haven’t lied to you.”

“You manipulated me.”

“Well, yes. I’ll admit to that…So, do you have any questions about the job?”

“Plenty. I’ll start with, why are you doing this?”

“You’ve seen my girls. You know they’re fast and clever, but Amity Park is dangerous. Doing their job is difficult here. There’s the constant peril of getting too close to a ghost fight, or kids waking up in the middle of the night from the noise.”

“Are you saying you want…a tooth fairy body guard?”

“It’s a start. It’s not too different to what you normally do so it should be a simple introduction. And don’t worry, I won’t be pulling you from school. Education is very important after all. You’ll be working nights anyway. Not all night and probably not every night, but you’ll need to quit your current one. You need your sleep. I’ll understand if you need to run off to deal with invading ghosts as well.”

“Wow, sounds like a dream job. Y’know you could have tried offering it instead of forcing me? Better yet, put the job out to someone actually qualified. Maybe a family dentist that shares your weird fascination with children’s teeth and sneaking into their rooms at night. Nevermind, I can see where you’d run into issues.”

“You sure are a funny one.”

“I think so, but so far I haven’t been able to get a laugh out of my usual kidnappers.”

Her feathers puffed up in distress and she was suddenly in his face.

“You get kidnapped often?!”

He stared back impassively and floated back a few paces.

“You do not get to be concerned about that, lady.”

She brought a hand to her chin and started flying back and forth, pacing in the air.

“This really was too easy.”

“You don’t need to rub it in.”

“-There’s so much you need to know. I didn’t want to overwhelm you but this important. I’ll have to give you a crash course on the more dangerous spirits for one…”

“You put all your captives through boring lectures?”

She stopped pacing and came close to him, setting him with a strong gaze.

“You’re not a captive, Danny Phantom.”

She hadn’t said his name with any intent and that seemed to matter. He still couldn’t help cringing.

“Indentured servant then.”

She shrugged.

“If you like. You will be paid though. I won’t have you going hungry.”

The way she eyed his form up and down like he was a malnourished kitten had him bristling, but he reined himself in to try and get more information.

“So, what’s my bond then?”

“Pardon?”

“If I’m indentured, it means I owe something, right?”

She was silent for a moment.

“Very well…I’ll let you choose whether or not to continue working for me, once I’m satisfied.”

“Satisfied with what? What kind of condition is that?”

“One I’ll accept. One you’ll have to.”

Danny pulled a hand down his face.

“Awesome.”

She grabbed his hand before it dropped to his side and pulled him under the nearest streetlight.

“Wow-hey!” he yelped.

“You’re bleeding.”

She lifted his arm higher for emphasis.

“I’m fine. It’s already basically healed.”

He tried to pull his hand away, before resorting to phasing out of her deceptively strong grip.

The fairy scrutinised him a moment longer before backing away a few feet. Thankfully, she didn’t press him any further on it. 

“Do you have any concerns about your role, other than what we’ve already gone over?” She asked.

He had so many but he got the distinct impression it would be fruitless to ask all the variations of why this was happening.

“Well…uh, I’m emancipated and if I don’t have a job, like, the kind with a paper trail that’s going to cause some issues...”

“Hmmm…Ok. Don’t worry. I’ll think of something.”

She looked to the house below them.

“We’re massively behind schedule so we’d better get started. Come on.” She said, waving him onward.

She drifted down to the second story window and Danny followed. He turned invisible, not wanting to be caught sneaking into a child’s bedroom in the middle of the night. His reputation was mostly positive now and he intended to keep it that way. The Tooth Fairy glanced behind her at his disappearance but remained unconcerned.

She slowly pulled the window open and slipped inside. Her wings had slowed from their usual hummingbird pace and were near silent. She gently flew to the child’s bedside, a little boy, before hovering place.

“It’s his first” she whispered with reverence.

Danny came to her side, fully ready to make comments in poor taste but as he looked to her he was struck by the utter care and devotion, fierce and gentle at the same time, with which she gazed upon the boy. It was so obviously a look of love. Regardless of circumstances, he found it much more touching than unnerving. Despite never having met them before, likely never having known of them until they lost a tooth, The Tooth Fairy obviously had a deep, nurturing love for these children Danny didn’t think he could grasp the depth of.

He stayed quiet as she slowly reached out a hand under the pillow for the tooth and slipped in a coin with the other. The material didn’t crinkle with her practiced touch. She brought the tooth to her chest and gave a soft smile in Danny’s direction, before looking to the child one last time and heading out through the window. She closed it softly behind her before leaving room for Danny to phase through. He dropped his invisibility as they drifted up over the roof again. She widened her smile upon seeing him.

“Look! Look! Isn’t it beautiful?” She said, bringing her cupped hand in front of face and caressing the tooth with other.

“Um, sure.”

“This one’s even got a bit of gum at the root. So cute. It’s such a shame when they put it in water and wash away the blood and stringy bits.”

Danny felt fought back a wave of nausea at the image. The fairy was back to being utterly creepy.

“Good thing the kid didn’t lock the window.” He said, hoping to divert all conversation threads about her apparent love of gore.

She giggled.

“Oh Danny, I’m sure he did. I was invited in so nothing is locked for me.”

“Huh? So you’ve met them before?”

She shook her head.

“A tooth for a coin. It’s a trade. I’m expected to come into their homes to collect it, which is as good as an invitation.”

And suddenly Danny was overcome by horror. Kids put faith in a magical story that boiled down to trading their body parts and access to their homes for money. If giving his name put him in this situation what would giving a piece of one’s self mean?

“What do you do with the teeth?” He asked, urgently.

“It’s not about the teeth, even if they are gorgeous. It’s about the memories stored inside them. That’s what I protect.” She looked at him meaningfully.

“Memories? In teeth?”

“They make up every part of us, shape our personal stories and our bonds. I guard them, with pieces freely given, and remind people of what’s important when they need it. Well, I may have neglected that last part for a little while.”

She clutched the tooth over her heart and looked to the skyline, perhaps lost in her own memories.

“I’m trying to get more involved in the world. Slow down and take in the little moments. I’ve only just gotten back to doing field work myself. I still can’t believe I didn’t do this for over four hundred years.” She said.

He refused to be distracted by the fact that he was apparently dealing with an ancient being. Surely some ghosts he’d faced were older that most civilisations.

“Ok, but like, it a practical sense what do you actually do with them?”

She turned back to him and smirked.

“I’ll show you sometime.”

He’d almost rather decline, though he doubted his opinion would suddenly be taken into consideration.

“So, uh, what’s next?”

The Tooth Fairy took in the lightening sky and shook her head, slipping the tooth into a pouch at her hip that blended with her feathers.

“No more for you tonight. It’s late and also I’ve left Baby Tooth to take charge for far too long. This took longer than I thought, but I guess that’s expected for orientation.”

Danny started drifting away and faced no resistance.

“I can go home then?”

“Yes, you’ll want to rest up. Tomorrow we’ll need to get a bit more done. Oh, one more thing!”

She pulled a wrapped hard candy out of the same pouch the tooth went in.

“For you. You did good tonight.” She said, holding it out to him.

Danny eyed it with distaste.

“What is this for? I attacked you and otherwise just followed you around.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll find time to work on your self-defense skills.”

“I kick plenty of ghost butt without breaking a sweat.” he grumbled.

“It’s sugar freeeee” She said, in a tone that implied that was supposed to sway him.

Danny took it, only because he didn’t want to be ordered to. She positively beamed.

“I’ll see you tomorrow night, Danny Phantom.”

The sound of his name on her lips was accompanied by a full body chill. It sounded somewhere between a threat and a promise. The Tooth Fairy waved to him and sped off in the other direction.

Danny stared down at the candy in his hand. He didn’t have dinner and was too stressed to eat lunch. At least it was individually wrapped, even if it was brushing up against a human tooth. He unwrapped it and shoved it in his mouth before he could dwell too much on that. It was mildly sweet and fruity, but not one he was familiar with.

With nothing else to keep him out he headed straight for his apartment and bed; thankful it wasn’t one of the casualties from earlier that night. Just as it occurred to him to text his friends that he was alright he got a painful reminder in the form of a boomerang to the head. Danny whined, rubbing the back of his head and cursing that invention. It never mattered how many times it saved him when it was giving him a new concussion.

“Danny!” Called a voice from street level.

Danny looked down to see Sam speeding along on her moped, Tucker on board behind her.

“Hey guys.” He said, coming down to meet them.

“We really need to get cars.” Said Tucker.

“Kind of a moot point for me.”

“And my parents won’t fork over the dough. So, Sam needs to get a car.”

“Cars are horrible for the environment, and can we stay on task please? Danny just got kidnapped!”

“Which makes this a regular Thursday night.”

Sam glared at Tucker.

“He’s fine.” Said Tucker, gesturing to Danny.

“I am. Bird lady is definitely a creep but maybe a well-meaning one? I’m not sure. I’m also out of ideas on how to get her to leave me alone. For now, I think I should just go along with it. I don’t have Fenton grade apartment walls and I’m running out of furniture. Plus, she’s not out to waste me or innocent children so this is getting set lower on my priority list. Just below sleep.”

Sam and Tucker shared a look.

“Did the creepy bird woman tell you to say that?”

“What? No. Oh man, I wonder if she could order me to think differently.” Said Danny as he chewed the knuckles of his glove.

“We’ll have to work something out before this gets worse. Because it always gets worse.” Said Sam.

“Is that part of fairy lore?” Danny asked with worry.

“No, that’s just our luck.”

“Is the being invisible part of the lore? ‘Cause that’s turning out to be a problem.” Said Tucker.

“Maybe. I thought that part was more about being able to infiltrate a crowd and not being seen as unordinary, not being deliberately invisible to people that are literally attacking you.”

“So all that time spent agonising over purple prose was pointless for how vague it was? Great.”

“It was a start! With more time I’m sure we’ll find something.”

“How about we find our beds? I’m exhausted.” Said Danny.

Sam narrowed her eyes at him a moment before relenting.

“I guess it wouldn’t be any help to be any more sleep deprived. Fine, we’ll regroup at school tomorrow.”

“Give us a lift, man?” Asked Tucker.

Danny nodded, grabbing his friends and bringing them each home. He barely remembered stumbling into bed that night. Despite his exhaustion it was a restless sleep that had him tossing and turning as flighty shadows haunted his dreams.

Chapter Text

Danny woke up groggily at the sound of his alarm, setting it to snooze by muscle memory alone. He was still tormented by the little fairies even asleep in the form of unsettling shadows that lured him to dark corners. They, along with their leader, remained an enigma. One he’d no doubt yet again be greatly unprepared to face in the coming evening. That was a common theme in his life however, so he’d learned to put his stressful energy into the things he could prepare for.

He knew he’d have to make some sort of excuse to his boss about missing work that night and buried his head under the pillow with a groan. Mr. Pelnicure was quite understanding, but Danny had already ditched work twice to take care of ghost attacks in the past month under the guise of ‘stomach problems’ and he didn’t want to stretch the man’s goodwill. He was well aware it was better to get it over with first thing in the morning as opposed to right before his shift. At the least he wouldn’t spend much time agonising over what would make a convincing excuse. He groped his bedside until his hand clutched his phone and dialed the number.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Mr. Pelnicure? This is Danny. I won’t be able to make it to my shift tonight. I’m uh-sick.”

He coughed into his fist for emphasis.

“Sorry, who did you say this was?”

“Danny. Danny Fenton.”

“You have the wrong number, kid. I’ve never heard of you.”

Danny was suddenly wide awake, pulsing with anxiety that quickly turned into frosted bed sheets.

“Is this-Is this a prank?”

“I think I should be the one asking that, though I’m not sure what the funny part would be. Look, I’ve got a busy day ahead and I’m sure school is starting soon. Have a good one.”

Mr. Pelnicure hung up at that. Danny was in a momentary daze, brought out by his wringing of icy bed sheets and the accompanied crackling. He took a breath and did his best to calm down, if only to keep his phone from being frozen as he called Tucker with shaky fingers.

“Y’ello, what’s this morning’s emergency and can it wait until I’ve had breakfast?” came his friend’s sleep addled voice.

“Tucker, I just called my boss to make an excuse for tonight and he had no idea who I am.”

“You sure this wasn’t some roundabout way of saying ‘forget my number?’”

Despite his sceptical tone, Tucker’s voice was considerably sharper and Danny could hear the rapid typing of computer keys.

“Find anything?” he asked after a moment.

“Give me a second man.”

Danny fiddled with his blanket a bare second before he felt it rip.

“Ugh, I’m an idiot.” He said, making a conscious effort to still his hands.

“No argument here, whatever brought on that revelation. By the way, you’re still employed there in the official records. Your boss uses paper so I don’t know about that, but you’re in the clear for now.”

“That’s a relief and all, but I’m more freaking out over the fact that he just fucking forgot I existed. He wasn’t joking.”

“Well, when something weird happens its usually ghosts. Or I guess fairies sometimes.”

Danny went over what he remembered of the previous night. The Tooth Fairy had said something about memories but the specifics were unclear.

“The Tooth Fairy does have some power over memory. I mean, she said she collected them through the teeth and that there was more to it.”

“I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet she’s the culprit then, so chill, dude. Having a target means a good part of the problem is solved.”

“Right, yeah. That’s actually comforting. Sounds like something Jazz would say.”

“Speaking of, you thinking of calling her up about this?”

“Uh, no. She’ll freak out and ditch her full scholarship at her dream ivy league school if I outright express concern and ask for help.”

“That’s because if that happened she’d rightfully assume the world was ending.”

“Look, we’re not at that sort of disaster level yet. Also, can you keep an eye out in case Mr. Pelnicure looks into things and you need to fudge my record?”

“Sure, I’ll set up an alert.”

“Thanks, man.” Danny said with a relieved sigh.

“No problem. Also, Danny…I’m sorry about last night, for not believing you. It was damn scary actually when you got taken and we couldn’t do a thing, couldn’t even see the thing that took you. I don’t want to rely on the goodwill of a creature that did that, especially if she had something to do with this memory wipe as well.”

“Thanks Tuck. I don’t want to either. I wasn’t saying that I was giving up last night, but even if you guys saw her I don’t like our chances in a fight. She didn’t even need to control me to fight us. It seemed more out of impatience. So long as she’s not maiming me or anyone else I think the best thing to do is weasel info out of her to turn the tables.”

“That’s a little more cerebral that I’d expect of you. See, this is why I told Sam you might be a changeling.”

“Hey, I can use my head!”

“Yeah, as a battering ram.”

“Alright, alright you jerk. See you at school.” Said Danny, hanging up on his friend’s subsequent cackling.

A small smile adorned his own face as Danny took a moment to be thankful for his friends. The situation felt considerably less terrifying with them in his side, as always. He tossed aside his savaged bed sheets and headed to the kitchen for breakfast. It was with great disappointment he surveyed the damage that had not been magically fixed overnight. The shattered lamp and exploded fridge in the already sparse apartment were a poor enough picture. Wires and a torn lamp shade lay in milk and fridge coolant that had spread to second-hand, faded blue couch, giving it yet another dubious looking stain. There had been additional casualties, thanks to said exploding fridge. The pieces were strewn about in small and larger chunks, some having dug themselves into the floor boards and one even having taken off the corner of the solitary kitchen counter. Miraculously, the microwave atop the counter appeared to have only suffered some scuffed up glass.

With an incredibly put-upon sigh he set to work cleaning up. The liquid was soaked up with a towel that he wrung out in bathroom basin and the smaller chunks of derbies were double bagged in black garbage bags. Unfortunately, many of the bigger pieces stood no chance of fitting in the bin or his floor’s chute so he decided to pile them in the corner for now. There was only so much time before he’d need to head to school. With that done he quickly threw some clothes on before searching through the lone cupboard for food, ignoring the cupboard door just barely attached at the hinges. It had been like that when he moved in. His options were dry cereal or peanut butter without bread so he settled for angrily munching a few fistfuls of fruit-loops before he flew to school.

The fairy business had gotten a lot more serious. He’d need to get out of his ‘employment’ before a certain, much less sugary fruit-loop noticed and swooped in to take advantage of him breaking his emancipation conditions. In regards to that, he also couldn’t afford to get distracted at school. Danny really only tended to come up with inventive solutions on the fly when punching the problem failed him, which was fortunately rarely, but that meant matching wits with the fairy would be difficult for him. He was sure Sam would come up with some crucial pointers, though he wasn’t expecting it when she pressed a paper right in his face as a greeting.

“Hello to you too. Is this a list of grievances?”

“It’s a Danny-proof list on what not to do concerning the fae.” She replied without skipping a beat.

“Long list.” He said, scanning it. “And I thought we weren’t sure about most of it. Ok, most of this is basic stranger danger stuff. I know not to take candy from strangers Sam…wait. I actually did eat some candy she gave me last night.”

“What?!”

“Should I get to catastrophising? You should probably also add the consequences next to these.”

“How about my boot up your ass as a consequence you absolute moron?!”

“Uh oh, what’s our boy done to get you looking at him like you want him double dead?” Said Tucker as he saddled up beside them at the lockers.

“I spent the remainder of last night and this morning working on an easy do’s and don’t’s list for this idiot-”

“-Which I hugely appreciate. I’ll do my best to avoid these other points.”

“I doubt there’s any left.”

“Could you tell me what’s gonna happen now?”

“If you eat fae food you lose appetite for anything else and are reliant on them. Also, if you eat it in their realm you can’t leave. Honestly, am I the only one that actually read those books?”

“Sam! That’s kind of a big deal can we not gloss over that? I had cereal this morning. It was dry so, not exactly appealing but I could eat it. So I’m fine, right? Right?”

Sam sighed.

“I guess we’ll see how lunch goes.” She said grimly.

“Not that the mood isn’t suitably shit but I’m actually the barer of terrible news.” Said Tucker.

His friends looked to him with concern.

“What’s going on, Tuck?” asked Danny.

“Mickey’s little sister’s friend is missing.”

“That’s awful for sure, but aren’t the police dealing with it? Is there any reason to think our expertise is gonna help?”

“This is exactly our sort of problem. She’s not the only one. There’s been rumours about kids disappearing. Mostly younger ones”

“How come this hasn’t been all over the news?” asked Sam, crossing her arms.

“’Cause all of them have come back so far, as far as I can tell. They go missing anywhere between a few hours to a few days before showing up at home with explanations that don’t make sense. The neighborhood mum’s meet at Mickey’s place and stress about it. His sister said she and her friend were led somewhere but she doesn’t remember any details. Just that they got lost and only she found her way back. He’s been told by their parents that she’s blocked out the memories due to trauma.”

“Or maybe her memories have been messed with.” Concluded Danny.

“And we know who the prime suspect is.”

“Who?” Asked Sam

“We think The Tooth Fairy can manipulate memories based on some stuff she said to me. I called my boss this morning and he said he’d never heard of me. Perfect timing, since she’d promised to ‘take care of it’ when I brought up my emancipation.”

“Geez, is this Tooth Fairy the brother’s grim variant?  Honestly, it shouldn’t surprise me that the lies parents teach their kids end up actually being sinister monsters. I had a vague sort of belief of the fae before. I mean, I thought they were cooler than the fairy princesses in media. After last night, actually knowing what this fairy can do? That it’s really real? I’d prefer the cutesy ones.”

Sam’s shoulders were tense and her words much quieter than usual. She was scared. Something Danny hated to see.

“Do you think Santa is evil too? Can we all admit that Christmas is actually terrible?” he baited.

“No. Shut up, Danny.” She said with more of her usual assertive tone.

The she bit her lip, seriously considering the question.

“Well, if the Christ can be taken out of Christmas we should be able to ditch the Santa. Just keep the gift giving and goodwill.” She said.

“What we really need is some half decent weapons. Iron bullets would be awesome if that’s even possible.” Said Tucker. “You know, I was looking up some things this morning and modern society is actually a sitting duck for a fae take over. I’m not sure that’s an accident either.” Said Tucker.

“Um, what?”

“Think about it.” He said, tapping the side of his head. “Iron being so hard to find these days because it’s all been replaced by alternate metals? Normalising selling teeth to teach the kids that dealings with the fae are fun and lucrative? Everyone’s full name plastered all over social media? Sam already mentioned the propaganda sanitising their image. Oh, and how about the whole food thing? Ever heard of free samples?”

Danny stared at him, face awash with fear.

“I’d call you a conspiracy theorist but that makes too much sense.” Said Sam.

Tucker had many more examples, but he was cut off by the warning bell.

“Great, well. Perfect time to puzzle over Shakespearean metaphors, isn’t it?” Said Danny with a sardonic smile.

“Hold on.” Sam said, grabbing his arm. “Before the next disaster hits-”

She pulled a necklace out of her backpack and immediately tied the black cord around his neck. The smell of ash and strong unidentified herbaceous scents immediately assaulted him. The worst was a bitter, almost rotten undercurrent that reminded him of being caught in a ghost whale’s stomach. He held up the weighty, palm sized piece of tarnished, weaved metal with the tips of his fingers and eyed it with disgust.

“What is this and why does it reek?”

“It’s a Celtic protection amulet soaked in St John’s Wort and red verbena and I rubbed ash over it for good measure. All things that are meant to repel fairies and the amulet is based on the ones people used to help them find their way out of the fae realm. Everything arrived this morning so it’s only soaked for a half-hour.”

“Thanks.” He said, very reluctantly tucking it under his shirt. “Here’s hoping any of that works as intended.”

They headed to class and Danny did his utmost to pay attention. His head was an empty, humming spot of static despite the fact that he had plenty of things he knew he ought to be thinking about. He managed to focus by beating back all other concerns until they were a low buzzing of anxiety at the corners of his thoughts. Time passed quickly and soon he was sitting in the cafeteria with a tray of dull grey mystery meat in front of him. His friend’s watched him, waiting for him to take a bite, though Tucker did so while shovelling down his own portion.

“Honestly, I don’t think I need to be cursed to lose my appetite looking at this.”

“Only ‘cause I love you, bro.” Said Tucker, passing over his jelly cup. “Eat those.”

Sam unrolled her bag lunch and pulled out some carrots and dip to pass over to him.

“Get to it.”

Danny eyed his own jelly, which, while it was usually the best part of a school lunch was not something he’d typically look forward to. All the same he ripped off the foil top and took a bite.

“Well?” Asked Sam.

Danny shrugged.

“I mean, it’s underwhelming but I can eat it. Seems like at worst I’m not gonna starve.”

“Finish everything to be sure.”

Danny did as instructed, his friends’ faces becoming less tense as he went on.

“This hummus is actually nice by the way.”

“Ok, I’d say that’s one less thing we can worry about.” Sam said with a smile.

“That candy wasn’t even all that great, you know? It was nice enough, but I wouldn’t go into an unmarked white van for more.”

Sam snorted and Tucker pounded a fist on his chest as he choked on his food in his laughter.

“And what if they were offering a greasy burger?” she teased.

“I’d have to weigh the pros and cons.”

Sam rolled her eyes.

“Honestly, we should put a child leash on you.”

Danny laughed, imagining something like when he was flung across the city and felled several trees while attempting to walk Cujo.

“So, game plan.” Said Tucker, burping loudly and then clapping his hands. “The Tooth Fairy having his name is bad news, but there’s a counter to that right? He just needs to get hers.”

“Sure, but how could I get her to give it to me? My witty jokes and charm?” Said Danny, giving his best smile.

“Dear god no.”

“Maybe he can annoy her into letting him go?”

“Thanks guys.”

“If you have to follow her around anyway you can use the opportunity to ask about the kids. Maybe she’ll let slip where the missing one is.” Said Sam.

“I’m not sure she’d hurt them directly. I mean, she said she wouldn’t and she doesn’t seem like one to lie.”

“You don’t know that Danny. All you do know is that she’s manipulative, which doesn’t inspire trust.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s just, you didn’t see the way she looked at this kid she collected a tooth from. It’s hard to believe she’d want to hurt them.”

“Maybe she doesn’t think she is. I can think of another creep that would similarly entrap you if he could and claim that it’s all for your own benefit.”

Danny grimaced.

“When you put it like that she does kind of sound like Vlad.”

“Why does she collect the teeth anyways? Like, what does she get in the exchange?” wondered Tucker.

“It’s about the memories they apparently hold. That’s all I really understand.”

“Try and clarify that one then. We need some concrete info about her.”

“Will do. This ‘interview with The Tooth Fairy special’ is gonna go great. I’m sure of it.”

Class resumed shortly after they’d finished eating and it was just as dull as expected. Danny was more than a little surprised and unsettled by the lack of ghost attacks. He’d assumed that they’d lessened because he’s had the more persistent trouble makers in the thermos for days before releasing them the previous night. Ghosts bounced back quickly and while one day without bothering him wasn’t uncommon nowadays as he was on better terms with most of them he felt justified in his paranoia. Something was happening in Amity and he needed to know if these fairies were the cause or a symptom of it.

Chapter Text

They decided to wait for The Tooth Fairy in the park that night to save the last of Danny’s furniture. Sam and Tucker were waiting on a park bench with their iron pokers as their friend paced just above the ground in ghost form. If nothing else they’d be there for emotional support and to remind the fairy that Danny had very persistent back up. All three were periodically scanning the surrounding dark trees for little bright shapes. There were multiple false alarms, what with the park boasting what was most likely the world’s largest population of blob ghosts. The round, glowing green beings of dripping, pudding-like consistency often took to floating around their heads, especially Danny’s. It typically took an hour for him to be covered in a swarm but it had been nearly three hours since they’d arrived, the sun having fully set and yet he was only batting away ten or so.

“Hey Sam, you think your parents would be suspicious if you suddenly gained an interest in medieval weaponry? This one thin rod doesn’t give me much confidence.” Asked Tucker.

“There’s a joke there but I’ll leave it.”.

He gave her a flat stare that she ignored.

“If it’s dangerous or taboo my parents won’t be surprised and we’re passed disappointment but that doesn’t mean they’ll allow it. I don’t like my chances of sneaking full sets of armour into the house. You know what a fuss they put up just about the amulet and herbs?” She said.

“You could send it to Danny’s place?”

“They check my financial records regularly.”

“Yikes.”

“You guys hear that?” Interrupted Danny.

The two tensed and instantly quieted.

“…No.” Tucker answered after a few moments.

“It’s like, a wolf call maybe? Except I’m pretty sure we don’t have those.”

“You could be hearing someone’s TV again.” Said Sam.

Danny frowned.

“Yeah, probably just that...” He said, looking up to the apartment block across the street. Most windows were lit up but that didn’t reveal anything. His enhanced hearing did tend to confuse him almost as much as it was useful.

He turned back to his friends only to see them stock-still, wide eyes focused on something behind him. Danny whipped around immediately, his friends at his sides seconds after. Several metres away was the iridescent form of The Tooth Fairy flying toward them at a leisurely pace. 

“Good evening, Danny.” She called as she came closer.

Sam and Tucker both took a step-in front of him, their faces determined.

“That’s close enough.” Said Tucker, raising his poker.

The fairy gave them all charming smile.

“It’s good to meet Danny’s friends properly. I’m The Tooth Fairy.”

“I hope you don’t think we’re also dumb enough to give you our names.” Said Sam.

Her smile widened.

“That’s good. He’s lucky to have you both.”

“What’s your angle here?”

“I’ve told Danny all I’m going to on that for now.”

“Not just that. What about with the town? With the kids?” Said Danny, squeezing in front of his friends.

“The children?” She asked quizzically. “I’ve already told you. Well, I suppose these concepts are a bit abstract unless you see them in practice.”

“Why is a kid missing, with her friend having no memory of what happened?”

The Tooth Fairy dipped a bit lower to the ground at the question.

“Ah, you’re talking about Marissa and Katie.” She said solemnly.

“So you were involved.” Spat Tucker.

She nodded. Sam clutched her poker tighter and glared.

“It’s my self-appointed task to preserve memories, but some…they do no good. They only hurt. Healing can only be found by forgetting. That’s what Marissa needed.”

A sharp tip of iron was suddenly in the fairy’s face, a snarling Sam at the other end. The fairy didn’t flinch.

“Where’s the missing kid?”

“There wasn’t enough left to bury.”

The three friends stared at her in horror.

“What-what happened?” rasped Danny, his mouth gone impossibly dry.

“She was devoured. A Bauk got her. One of my fairies heard Marissa screaming and I was able to save her, but Katie…”

There was deep pain in her voice and unshed tears in her eyes. She stared at the ground a moment, ignoring Sam’s poker that had dipped slightly in her shock. Danny swallowed.

“This…Bauk. Where is it now?”

The Tooth Fairy took a stuttering breath before fixing them with a fierce look that fit surprisingly well on her small face.

“It is no more.”

Sam growled.

“So you took care of it did you? We’re just supposed to believe that?!” She yelled.

The fairy set her strong gaze on Danny.

“Katie wasn’t the first. She won’t be the last. You’ve dedicated yourself to being this town’s protector and soon you’ll be faced with the true scope of that role.”

“I-what-Why is this happening? Why now?” Asked Danny.

The fairy’s gaze softened.

“It was probably always going to happen. This place has long been seeped in the energies of another realm and it’s since been flooded with it, inextricably intertwined. Much like yourself.”

The portal, his mind shouted. The thought echoed, getting louder until his hands twitched with the need to block his ears. It always came back to the portal. A hand clutched his shoulder and Danny turned to see Tucker giving him a concerned look. He couldn’t manage a smile to appease that concern at the minute.

“I know you have a lot of questions” began the fairy “but there’s also quite a lot of work to do. For children to wake up and find that I haven’t been there?” She shook her head. “I can’t let that happen.”

“Why not? What happens if you don’t collect the teeth?” Asked Tucker.

“What happens if there are no eggs hidden on Easter? No presents under the tree at Christmas?”

“They stop believing in you.” Concluded Sam.             

“They stop believing that I could exist.” She corrected. “They give up on hoping for the future. They don’t get to know the wonder of the world.”

“Sounds like growing up.” Sam snarked.

The Tooth Fairy shook her head.

“These are things fostered in children so they may be carried into adulthood. They exist without interference but there is more, the world is brighter, because there are those that care to deliberately put these things out into the world.”

“Those are pretty words, but we don’t trust you. If you do anything to hurt the people of this town, I’ll stop you.” Danny said with determination.

She gave him a small, mysterious smile which he could only place somewhere between proud and condescending.

“Don’t lag behind.” She said as she ascended in the air and turned to fly off.

It was a glacial pace compared to what she was capable of, and Danny knew he didn’t actually have a choice but to follow. As he went to take off after her he felt a pull on his wrist. Sam stared up at him with no attempts to hide her fear.

“I’ll be fine. And if not, you have the concussion device to find me.” He said, gesturing to the Boo-merang on her hip.

She huffed but let go.

“Be careful, dude.” Said Tucker.

Danny nodded before taking to the sky.

The fairy hadn’t gone far and she didn’t spare him a glance as he came up beside her.

“First stop 234 Grave Lane.” She said in a rush before speeding up.

She was clearly slowing down on account of him being able to keep up with her, though just barely. They rushed so quickly from house-to-house Danny didn’t get to absorb much as he was run ragged. He near collapsed when she announced they were taking a break. It was obviously just for his benefit as she seemed to speed up even more as she gave addresses and tooth categories to mini fairies who had crowded around them and sped off at her orders. Her manic levels of energetic cheer never slowed for a moment, her wings becoming near invisible in their speed, much like a true hummingbird bird, as she turned in a fraction of second to give each fairy their target. At times she spoke fast enough he couldn’t understand the words, or maybe she was speaking in that chirping language. Danny had fully recovered by the time she looked in his direction nearly an hour later.

“Sorry about that!” She said as a group of mini fairies disappeared in the distance and a new lot joined her. “I get caught up sometimes. This is how I’ve been doing it for centuries and my girls need the direct guidance every now and again otherwise it’s hard to keep myself on track.”

A new mini-fairy appeared at her side, carrying a small box.

“Oh, perfect.” She said, taking it and then tossing to him.

“What’s this?”

“Dental floss. I’m going to get a handle on things for a little bit and I could tell from your teeth that you don’t floss. You need to start.”

Danny rolled his eyes and made no attempt to do so, but quickly found himself under the scrutiny of many eyes. It was unnerving the way the previously bouncy energy was replaced by utter stillness aside from quiet wing beats keeping all the fairies perfectly in place. After a few long moments The Tooth Fairy opened her mouth and Danny instantly popped open the floss. She smiled at him and went back to her task while he went on with his, but as he finished a few moments later she looked to him again.

“Danny, that’s not good enough. There’s a synergistic relationship between oral health and overall wellness, you know. You’re putting your heart, lungs and even bones at risk.”

Danny gave an uneasy shrug.

“I did it though.”

“I’ll show you.”

She held her hand out and he tossed the floss back to her. He was grateful that she wasn’t putting her fingers in his mouth this time as she demonstrated the right way to floss. It was quickly given back to him and eyes were on him once again.

“Do I really have to do this?” he said with a sigh.

“Danny Phantom you are to floss your teeth, as demonstrated, until I say you’re finished.” She said, admonishment in her tone, before turning away to hand out more tooth assignments.

He’d exhausted the limits of her patience it seemed. The horrible, constricting feeling of his own limbs following another’s command immediately overtook him as his body followed her order. It wasn’t like anything he usually experienced. Being beaten to the point of weakness or tied up he could still squirm or relax his muscles. There was no shifting his own hands, the tilting of his head or even the pressure used. It felt as if he was being worn by another person. Nausea welled up and he couldn’t manage to swallow right, barely able to keep it back with deep breaths.

Minutes past and then what seemed like hours. There was a slight stinging in his gums and he could taste the sourness of his own ectoplasm. His hands and fingers were aching, cramping but continuing at exactly the same pace. He wanted to be bored, but any time his mind drifted during the repetitive task a bolt of anxiety went through him. The thought of being mindless while his body was already against him was too much.

“Oh dear, time got away from me, didn’t it?” The fairy said as she turned back to him, now without any mini-fairies around her. “I didn’t intend to leave you anywhere near that long. You’re finished now.”

Danny nearly fell out of the air at her words, his body suddenly his own again. He lowered his stiff hands slowly as he gave her a wary look.

“I am sorry I left you that long. You must have been bored, but well, at least muscle memory should ensure you do it right and I’m sure you’ll remember to floss from now on. We can take it slow for these last few houses.” She said.

The fairy kept to a moderate pace that Danny thankfully didn’t struggle to keep up with. He was more than a little disturbed during the few minutes it took him to get used to the ease of his body responding to him.

“I’m not sure of exactly what creatures are gathering in this city. Though I’ll give you some general information, it would be best if you read up on the possibilities yourself. Now firstly, I have to warn you not to give your name away carelessly.” She said firmly.

Danny rolled his eyes at that, before he remembered he was meant to be questioning her about it.

“Hey so, about that. Danny Phantom isn’t what my parents named me. I came up with it. How are you able to…use it?”

“As I understand it ‘Skulker’ or ‘Technus’ would be an odd name for a parent to give as well.”

“Yeah, but they’re ghosts.”

“So they are, Phantom. It is curious that it’s also a title.”

“Right…hey, what do you mean by title?”

“Oh, I was just musing. Don’t think about it Danny Phantom.”

Just like that thought fell from his mind.

She didn’t spend as much time collecting each tooth as the first time, but there was no less care in her work. Though there wasn’t so much as a wisp of his ghost sense he was close to jumping at shadows while she talked near endlessly about all the terrible monsters of folklore and gave advice on how to deal with or at worst survive them. As well as some asides about their teeth.

There was a whole lot a half-ghost bound to a fairy was willing to believe but he could reasonably expect a black combat boot to the head if he took everything at face value. He wasn’t the least bit remorseful as he interrupted her detailed description of vampire fangs.  

“These monsters you’ve been going on about all night…I haven’t seen any.”

The fairy stared at him a moment, considering, before nodding to herself.

“I can show you.”

She turned sharply to the right and flew more briskly while Danny followed just behind.

“My girls see things during their rounds that I then investigate. I would have more specifically searching for dangers if I had the numbers but I can only have my mind going in so many directions.”

The Tooth fairy slowed to a stop just above a darkened alley splitting two derelict buildings as a few mini fairies appeared at her side. The streetlight was dim and stuttering but Danny was used to much more flamboyant signs of danger.

“What’s here?” he asked.

“I’m not sure yet.”

Three more mini fairies arrived. They were slow and bobbing in the air as they struggled to carry the weight of thin yet wickedly sharp dual swords that The Tooth fairy relieved them of. Without another word she descended to the middle of the alley, Danny cautiously following. She carefully studied the shadows as she walked while the mini fairies seamlessly shifted to cover every directly she wasn’t currently looking in.

Danny was getting nervous, though it looked like a regular alley to him. There was a vague sense of being watched and something seemed to hover on the edge of his vision but it could just as easily have been his imagination. He looked to the fairy who had a stern look on her face with swords held ready. The way she scanned the dark corners made him think she could see much more than him. She turned immediately upon reaching the end and looked up to the building on the left.

“Let’s check-”

All at once the hairs on his neck stood up. Instinct told him to duck and a whoosh of air ruffled his hair a split second later. He rolled forward in the air and spun around. Nothing was there. He looked back to the fairy.

“Did you-?”

“I saw it. Don’t look away.” She said, eyes resolutely forward.

Danny turned back, facing the dark corridor barely illuminated by the streetlight at the mouth of the alley. He could make out a dumpster on either side, a few overflowing bins and some empty milk crates.

“What is it?”

“A hide-behind I believe. They are named for what they are exceptionally good at. Usually they stick to forests, targeting wayward loggers. They are not especially dangerous but do not under estimate it.”

She said all this as she crept forward, eyes darting to every potential hiding spot. Danny stepped in front of her, leaving a healthy amount of room for the swords, and formed an ecto-blast in both hands.

“What do you call a hide-behind that has nothing to hide behind?” he said with a smirk before blasting either side of the alley.

Everything lit up green for a moment before quickly fading. There were two dents in the pavement all the way to the street and most of the trash had been cleared, though much of the debris was now on fire or smoking.

“Danny! Up and out, now!” yelled The Tooth Fairy.

Just as he’d turned to her Danny was bowled over and pinned to the ground. Hairy arms thrice the size of his own with black claws kept him down on his belly. He thrashed a moment, his shoulders and back gaining deep cuts, before remembering to turn intangible. After escaping he spun around to face the creature, only to find nothing but smoke. Barely a moment passed before he was tackled down from the side and the creature sliced at him. Danny growled and brought his arms to block the featureless lump of fur that immediately tore at them. Ectoplasm ran from his arms and into his eyes, turning everything green. Danny promptly pulled his energy into his hands and let loose an ecto-blast at point blank range. The hide-behind was flung against the alley wall and dissipated into shadow before the light from the blast faded.

A heavy thud sounded behind him, causing Danny to jump to his feet. On the ground there was another hide-behind. It wasn’t moving, giving him ample chance to study it.  It was almost a humanoid creature with two legs and arms, though both ended in paws reminiscent of a lion and its neck was more an extension of its torso, ending in a featureless lump all covered in dark hair. This one covered in even more cuts than he was, deeper and oozing black but none were defensive wounds. The creature looked to have been struck repeatedly in the almost exactly the same spots leading to the lengthy deep cuts along its heels and one through the lump that could be a neck that was severed near three quarters through.  

A battle cry was yelled ahead of him and Danny hoped over the body and ran through what remained of the smoke. There was The Tooth Fairy, swords in hand and barely visible as more than a blindingly fast mass of colour that appeared to shed black ooze. Yet another hide-behind dropped to the ground in front of him with similar wounds, despite not being visible a moment ago. In the next moment the fairy had slowed, merely hovering. She shook the mess off her swords briefly, but most of it was being flung from her darkened wings.

“Danny, you’re hurt!”

Mini fairies appeared to take her swords just she let them go and flew to him. She reached toward him and he flinched. It didn’t seem to dissuade her at first but barely a hair’s breadth from his shoulder she retracted her hands.

“I’m fine. They weren’t ghosts or ecto-weapons so I’ll heal quick.” He said, wiping the ectoplasm from his eyes.

He looked over the felled creatures around him. Ironically, he wasn’t used to seeing death. Not like this.

“What about the uh…bodies?”

“The sunlight will take care of that. Are you sure you’re ok?”

Danny held up his arm and smeared some ectoplasm away from what had become shallow scratches.

“That’s excellent! You should be fully healed by tomorrow then?”

He turned his gaze from the creatures to the fairy arranging her swords on a near invisible belt. There wasn’t a single rumpled feather to be seen, the only sign she’d been in a fight being a darkened sheen on her swords and wing tips.

“So there’s…more than this? Worse than this? How long have these things been in Amity? How long have you been here?”

“I’ve been coming here since there were children to collect teeth from. The more malevolent creatures? Well, they are usually less prevalent in cities, even without interference. There would’ve always been more here but people tend to adjust without realising. I’ve only noticed this massive uptick in activity in the last few months.”

“They’ve always been here?” he said, more to himself. “How have I never seen them until now?”

The Tooth Fairy flew higher, out of the alley and Danny followed without much thought.

“You’re doing well by the way.” She said kindly.

“I haven’t made it a week yet. Still plenty opportunity to get fired.” He said petulantly.

The fairy giggled and Danny smiled slightly, before frowning.  

“You answer pretty much all my questions, but I still get the feeling you’re keeping a ton from me.”

“There’s the solution then. You just need to ask.”

“What are you not telling me?”

She shook her head.

“You’ll need to be much more specific.”

He huffed and crossed his arms.

“This is exactly what I mean. Ok then, what’s your name?”

“That would be something I’m keeping from you.”

Danny groaned.

“I knew it couldn’t be that easy. Can I at least get a nickname, so I can refer to you as something besides that bird woman forcing me to work for her?”

“My friends call me Tooth.”

He gave her a blank look.

“You’re friends are real creative.”

Tooth smiled.

“I rather like it though.”

Her eyes drifted skyward and Danny followed her gaze. The night sky was off somehow. Drifts of pinks and oranges faded in an out over the stars. In his experience changes to the sky meant something dramatic was about to happen, but Tooth looked mildly concerned at most.

“It would be best if you went home to rest.” She said, pulling his attention away. “I’ve already kept you out longer that I’d meant to. Unfortunately, that may happen often.”

“Just like a regular job then.” He mumbled.

“Goodnight.” She said with a wave.

“Hold on!” he called, before she could get out of sight.

He’d nearly forgotten the source of his morning panic attack but he couldn’t let her leave without addressing it.

“You messed with my boss’s memories didn’t you?”

Tooth nodded.

“This way you won’t have to quit. At least not officially. That solves your problem, doesn’t it?”

“But that-it’s messed up! Messing with people’s heads like that.”

She blinked at him owlishly.

“He wasn’t harmed.”

“That’s not the point-”

“-We won’t be coming to an agreement on this point. It’s better to drop it. I’ll see you tomorrow, Danny.”

“No-hey, that’s not-”

She was gone in the blink of an eye, even the sound of her rapidly beating wings blending in with the ambient city noise.

Danny sighed as he gently floated to take a seat on the edge of a building. It had been an exhausting evening despite the fact that very little happened. He was taking the concept of the world being filled with child eating monsters that had their eyes set on his town well he thought. It was easy to imagine a place like Amity getting sucked up by the supernatural. Far too easy.

He should be studying English. Technically he’s had the time. This current ‘job’ took up considerably less time than the last, yet he felt like the frayed end of a rope. It was such a crock that his emancipation conditions included passing grades. His brain was too full with anxieties about life and death to contemplate literary analysis. Danny had to prove he could be an adult if he wanted to remain one in the eyes of the law, while simultaneously dealing with things no person, adult or otherwise, should have to.

He pulled out the amulet Sam had given him from inside his suit and tossed it up and down a few times. It hardly did him any good in terms of repelling fairies, and it still smelled utterly foul. If anything, the odour was getting worse. Although, thinking it over further, Danny realised that Tooth hadn’t touched him all night despite doing so liberally before. That may have had something to do with him complying with her every direction though, as opposed to a frankly ugly, stinking hunk of supposed protection magic. Reluctantly, he put it away back against his chest just in case.

Learning his lesson from last time, he texted Sam and Tucker before they started to worry. They should’ve then gone over what they knew and made some kind of plan instead of sullenly heading home. Ghosts weren’t the only danger now. There was a foreign evil after the town and it had already taken at least one child. In the wake of that, the usually highly resilient trio were feeling lost.  All that was certain, was that Amity Park would need to learn to combat all sorts of monsters.