title: De-Stabilized 2.0

Danny Fenton x Reader
Danny Phantom

requested: Alyssajj11
note: this is so chaotic but I hope you like it. Sorry for the wait. For the other requests: I haven't forgotten, I've just had a very busy year and I'll be trying to get them done over the next few months :)
Art by Picolo

warnings: ghost gore?

~~~

The Friday ended as all Fridays should: walking out of school arm in arm with Sam, Tucker, and Danny. The promise of a long weekend, which had gotten the students of Casper High through the week, was finally here.

"The science convention is the best part of the year. Two days surrounded by the best minds in America? VIP tickets? I'm living the dream." Tucker said, gazing lovingly at the silver ticket in his hand. Actually, he hadn't let go of it since his birthday at the beginning of the week.

"Yeah yeah, enjoy your nerd-con." Sam rolled her eyes. "I'll be making the most of a long weekend at a nature retreat in Oregon. Get this: a full weekend with no wifi, no electricity, and most importantly, no meat!"

"My condolences." Tucker shuddered.

Everyone laughed at Tucker's reaction; everyone except you. It was odd behaviour, especially for you. Normally you'd laugh at the playful banter, or at the very least, crack a knowing smile. But the vacant eyes and dragging limbs? Not so much.

Danny noticed the lack of reaction from the girl beside him. He had noticed your odd behaviour over the past few days and to say he was worried would be a royal understatement. At first, he let it slide: Danny knew what it was like to have things going on that other people wouldn't understand. You both were half ghost for goodness sake! But you were getting worse, and he also knew the importance of letting others help you.

"You okay?" Danny whispered, nudging your arm gently. Jumping in surprise, you looked at him like a deer in headlights.

"Hmm? Oh, I'm fine. Just thinking, 's all." You lied through your teeth. It tasted bitter on the tongue, but thankfully Danny didn't press further.

"Okay..." He said hesitantly. "I'll be in town all weekend if you wanted to talk about whatever's bothering you."

"I'll let you know." Flashing a smile that didn't quite reach your eyes, you adjusted your bag and looked to the approaching bus stop. "I think I'll walk today guys, have fun at your conventions and retreats!"

They looked at you strangely but didn't ask any questions as they said goodbye. Purposely avoiding Danny's eyes, you turned away and began the long walk home.

It's not that you didn't like him — them. They were your closest friends. It's just you didn't like lying to them. You were clearly not fine but didn't want to burden them with another ghost-thing; heavens knows they already had dealt with enough. Of course, Danny would be more understanding, but the situation was rather incriminating. It wouldn't be a good look to tell your best friend (and longstanding crush) that you had broken into his house, used his parents portal, got kidnapped by Vlad whilst in the ghost realm, been tortured for information on said best friend, and left goopy puddles of ectoplasma in his basement.

Incriminating.

So you held on to the life-threatening problem as any self-conscious teenager would.

After the hour-long walk home, you were utterly exhausted. Every new task seemed to sap your energy more and more as you spent so much effort fighting to stay together. Literally.

It seemed that upon entering the room, your body subconsciously relaxed. This sounds like a good thing, but it was the tension alone that held you together. Your skin broke out in ghostly patches that grew larger every second — like it was going ghost but incredibly slowly. In the mirror, you glimpsed the horrifying patchwork of flesh and green, glowing ectoplasma that oozed slowly down your skin. To your dismay, the carpet at your feet was already slick with fluid.

Swinging your now dirty backpack to the side of your bedroom, you kneeled down and ripped off the secret bottom of the bedside table, which held all ghost-related paraphernalia. Your fingers snatched a glowing vial — the last one — and you greedily gulped it down.

Slowly but surely, you stopped melting. Your skin evened out to a pleasant (S/C) tone and a heavy sigh of relief escaped your lips.

That was the secret: you were unstable. Fated to die a gruesome death unless you were supplemented with a concoction (snagged from Vlad's) that only fixed the problem temporarily. Which had, as of now, run out.

It was because of Vlad's strange torture device that you were this way. His hunger for Danny Phantom's defeat drove him to capture Danny's ghost-fighting partner — you — in the hopes of gaining an advantage. However, to his chagrin, you were exceptionally loyal and did not betray a single secret. Even after he tested every machine in his arsenal on you.

And so you found yourself lying on the rug in your room, trembling in terror and fatigue. The fluffy covers of your bed seemed so inviting but you had no more strength to keep your eyes open, let alone to move. So you lay on your shag rug and let the darkness of sleep take you.

~~~

Slowly opening your eyes, you yawned and snuggled further into the plush rug. Warmth from the sun streamed through the open curtains you had forgotten to close the night before. The rest was a welcome pause from the past few day's events.

But it didn't last long.

As you stretched your stiffened limbs, you heard a squelching noise from the rug under you. Your blood ran cold. Though with bleary eyes, you looked down at yourself in horror and bit back the rising scream. It had started again.

Frantically you looked at the alarm clock on your bedside table: 3:47 pm. Shit.

You had slept in. By a lot. It was now time to supplement yourself, but there was none left.
Swearing at your carelessness, you scrambled to your feet not minding the puddle of ectoplasma you had left behind. You snatched your phone and tried to press Danny's contact, but your already melting fingers weren't registering. The screen timed out and left you to stare at the sickening reflection.

Casting the useless phone to the side, you threw open the window and jumped carelessly outside — if you used the front door, your uninformed parents might see you and that was an entirely new can of worms you weren't prepared to open. The autumn air was brisk but you paid no notice as you stumbled down your street.

Some neighbours stopped to gawk at the monstrosity of melting ghost that passed them by. However, despite the evident abhorrence, none were brave enough to stop you. So you half ran, half stumbled to Fenton Works, mind fogged with sleep and limbs slowly melting.

Luckily your house was only a few blocks from Danny's. But with your body melting like a candlestick, running became limping and limping became crawling. It seemed like an eternity had passed before you laid eyes on the building. On your elbows and knees (for you had lost the rest of your limbs), you crawled to his doorstep. Behind you, a trail of glowing ectoplasma.

Each stair was an endurance and you felt yourself fading with every exerting movement. Just as you reached for the last step, a figure landed in front of you, separating you from the door. Their foot stamped down upon your reaching arm and you cried out in agony as it dissolved into ectoplasma.

"And so the rabbit crawls back to the warren, unaware of the hunter following its tracks. I must thank you (Y/N), really. You've done me a great service." Vlad Plasmius said. You looked up at him and saw his evil smirk. At that moment, you wanted nothing more than to slap him so hard his ancestors felt it, but circumstances limited you to a mere comeback.

"I always do my best to help pensioners, Vlad; at your age, I'm sure you're no stranger to pity." You said earnestly and looked him in the eye. He snarled in distaste before his face returned its composure.

"You're likely wondering in what way you have helped me—" He started but was cut off by you.

"No, not really."

"—it's because you're the perfect bait. Watching your demise will wreck Daniel to his very core, and when he has no will left to fight? I hardly need lift a finger." Vlad continued with a grin. His plan was flawed in many aspects, which was mildly relieving. But it didn't mean that you weren't bound for certain death. Because you were. At least, you reasoned, Danny would only be losing a friend; not someone more important. Like Sam, who was evidently more to him than you could ever be.

These were all of the things that ran through your head whilst Vlad continued to drivel on about how great he was.

"...and then the world will quiver at my feet, begging me to spare them." Your body shook as you tried to form a ghost ray, but there was barely any ecto-energy left in you. Swallowing the rising lump in your throat at your helplessness, you tried to push up to the last step. But your arms gave out and you fell back into the growing puddle of ectoplasma.

"Hey, Plasmius. How about you pick on someone your own state of matter?" A new voice joined the conversation. Your heart soared at the cheesy quip, which only one person you knew would ever use.

"Daniel," Vlad grinned. "How nice of you to join us."

All of a sudden a bubble appeared around you, raising you (both solid and liquid parts) high up into the air. You wildly looked around and caught Danny's eyes.

"Hang on, (Y/N)!" He said and you resisted the urge to roll your eyes. What did he think you were doing? You watched him transform into Danny Phantom and he assumed a fighting posture.

"Ah ah ah, if you fight me you won't be able to save the girl." Vlad tutted. The bubble moved above a sewer drain and you unsuccessfully tried to not look at the rushing waters below. "Look at her, Daniel. One wrong move and she's washed away. But if you surrender, she's all yours."

Danny looked into your eyes, fear written all over his face. His eyes flashed an even brighter green for a second. You nodded in permission at the unspoken question and forced a smile, despite your lips starting to melt. He nodded and set his sights back on Vlad Plasmius.

Without warning, Danny sent a barrage of ghost rays towards Vlad. With abnormal ease, Vlad sidestepped each one.

"So that's how you're going to play," Vlad said. In retaliation, he created even more ghost rays — too much to dodge. Danny stood his ground but created a shield.

As you watched them fight, you were also hyper-aware of the increasing fluidity of your body. By now, you only had your head, left arm, and upper chest. The rest: well, you were swimming in it.

It had taken a minute of stale-mate for Danny to finally gain an advantage over his adversary; A distraction provided by the gathering crowd. While Vlad's attention was divided, Danny hit him in the chest with a supercharged energy strike. Vlad was thrown against the building opposite. The crowd dispersed frantically as they ran to escape the falling debris.

Danny quickly flew over to you whilst Vlad was seemingly out for the count. His face pinched with worry as he tried to think of a way to safely get you (and your liquid state) out of the bubble without letting you drain into the sewers.

"Maybe if there's a bucket I could... No, would there be— but what if I? Surely not," Danny frantically muttered under his breath as he moved around the bubble.

"Danny!" You cut him off and he turned to you. "Danny, I'm too far gone. Please don't blame yourself for this, it was out of your control."

"No, I can fix this! I can save you!" Danny's voice cracked at the last part, the lump in his throat rising.

You placed your forehead on the wall of the bubble and he did too. You could see the tears streaming down his cheeks and it hurt you more than anything that you couldn't wipe them away. That you couldn't comfort him, and hold him, and kiss him goodbye. Instead, your own tears spilt from your eyes as you gazed into his eyes for the last time. Then you finally were consumed by the puddle.

Danny felt his heart wrench as you melted away, and was so overtaken with grief he almost forgot something. Almost. A flicker of a memory tickled his mind: of his 'cousin', Dani. She'd been in the same position as you were, but she was still alive. How did she get cured? Danny racked his mind frantically before remembering the ecto-dejecto serum his parents had created.

"Eureka!" He yelled, hope swelling in his chest. It wasn't over yet, and he wasted no time in brushing away his tears and flying into the house. Danny ripped open his drawers carelessly as he tried to find the serum. Nothing else was on his mind bar the glimmer of hope that you could be saved.

Eventually, he found the spray bottle, but not after his room had been completely turned upside-down. Danny held the half-empty bottle as it was the most precious thing in the world. Quickly phasing through the wall, he flew up to the bubble.

Danny paused and swished around the contents in the bottle. What if it didn't work?

But what if it did?

"Here goes nothing."

His hand and the bottle became intangible as he reached into the bubble. Emptying the contents into your puddle, he stared intently at the ectoplasma and prayed to high heaven.

Nothing happened. Danny's heart chilled and sunk to the pit of his stomach, cracking as it hit the bottom.

But then the puddle shifted and began to boil; each bubble solidifying into different shapes. Danny watched various limbs rise to the surface and then disappear again into the plasma-like bones in a broth. His hopes soared and he breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Slowly but surely, your body began to form out of the ectoplasma.

Your ghost form was almost fully solid when the bubble gave out, sending you plummeting down to the ground far below. In midair, your unconscious body fully stabilised and transformed back into human: making you all the vulnerable to falling. Just as your body almost met the hard sewer grate, a pair of strong arms wrapped around you.

Danny alighted on the pavement with you in his arms. If his ghost reflexes hadn't been so attuned, the grate would have snapped your spine like a toothpick. He held you tightly because he didn't want your unconscious body to fall to the pavement. However, in truth, he was just scared to let you go.

~~~

It had been an hour. Danny sat by you, now laid on his bed. For the first time in days the worry lines were gone and you looked truly relaxed. Even though you looked as if you got into a fistfight with a gorilla, your face had still kept its beauty. At least, Danny thought so.

Once Danny had gotten you inside he went out again to look for Vlad, only to find a pile of bricks and empty space. It was no surprise that he had fled, but it meant that Danny would have to be prepared to fight again if Vlad came back. But for now, he anxiously waited at your bedside for your waking.

"I'm sorry that I took so long," Danny whispered and gently took your hand. "I should've known something was up, I should've done something earlier."

Blinking away tears, he spoke again.

"You're important to me, (Y/N) — in a different way to Tucker and Sam. I really, really like you, and I'm sorry that I didn't tell you before. I was scared, if you didn't like me back or if you got hurt. I—" His voice cracked as he lost his composure. Squeezing your hand tighter, he continued. "—I don't know what I would've done if I'd lost you."

Danny's vision blurred and he buried his head into the duvet to hide his tears, even though no one else was around or awake to witness them. After a few seconds, your fingers interlaced with his and you squeezed his hand.

Danny bolted upright at the action. Were you awake? He flushed: did you hear him?

Your eyes opened slowly, lashes casting shadows over your cheeks in the dwindling sunlight. A wide smile spread across your face as you turned to Danny.

"For what it's worth, I really really like you too, Daniel Fenton." You said groggily. Raising your free hand, you cupped his cheek and brushed away the tears with your thumb. Danny took a moment to process your words, but once he did, he tackled you with a hug. The boy held you as if you were melting in his fingers. Because you had been an hour ago, and he never wanted to let you slip through the cracks again.