Help (a Danny Phantom story)

Chapter 8

There wasnt much of a room behind the door, only a slightly illuminated spot on the tile floor. Everyone seemed afraid to enter, but Valerie and Kwan took the first steps. Sam, Tucker, and Happiness went next, then lastly Paulina and Dash. The door slammed behind them, scaring everyone. Suddenly a deep, booming laughter was heard, and a shadowy form stood in front of them. It smiled sinisterly, its teeth a brilliant white against the pure black smoke that made up the body. It deformed into a trail of smoke and spun around the room. Memories started to flash all around them, all of them being instances that contributed to fueling the PTSD. One memory in particular was larger than the others. It showed Sam, Tucker and Danny in the lab.

"Can we go inside it at least?" Tucker asked, and Sam nodded along.

"I guess, but I'm going in first, I don't want either of you getting hurt." Danny said, putting on a hazmat suit. He stepped inside tentatively, feeling along the wall. He tripped over a small wire and hit the ON button. Bright flashes of green and blue light emitted from the portal, and bloodcurdling screams of agony rang throughout the room.

"Danny!" The friends cried, and soon the flashes of light died down. Sam and Tucker ran in to see if their friend was all right

You died that day, the deep voice spoke, it's voice surrounding the room. You died, but not quite. You're stuck between two worlds that aren't quite your own. Do you remember the pain? The tearing and fusing of your DNA with ectoplasm? How everything hurt so bad you wished you could've fully died to make the pain stop. The voice laughed again, enjoying the heavy discomfort that filled the room. Happiness dashed to the door, his glow flickering. He finally managed to open it and rush everyone out before the shadowy smoke trail could feed off of the emotion.

"There's no reasoning or dampening that one." Happiness said breathlessly.

"Holy shit," Dash muttered, "Fenton actually died?"

Even Sam and Tucker looked surprised, they didn't know the full extent of what had happened to Danny, only that he gained powers from it. Unfortunately Happiness nodded his head, confirming their suspicions.

"Can Fenton ever fully die? Or somehow regain full life?" The question felt stupid as soon as it left Kwans mouth, but it received an answer regardless.

"He can, both die and be alive. But to live it would require him to remove his ghost half. And, as Sam and Tucker would know, that needs to be avoided at all cost, unless you want an evil Danny floating around." Happiness said.

"So are the others like this? Can we even get out of here?" Paulina asked, she seemed scared of the possibility of being stuck in Danny's dark and twisted mind. Not to mention how ugly the interior was and how awful she would look if she stayed any longer.

"I hope the other two are reasonable. We may need more acts like Sam did for Sorrow, though." Everyone nodded solemnly, fearing the worst as Happiness led them back up to the foyer and up an adjacent staircase to the attic.

"Meet Anxiety"