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another-shameless-fangirl · 2 years

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Reap What Was Sown- Chapter 1

Super excited to do my first ever Invisobang event! Please enjoy my minibang and go follow my incredible artists @arisu-artnfics and @saxonroa immediately.

Huge thanks to @amabsis for help and reading as I tortured them for months.

Archive of Our Own Link - Complete

Arisu's Post

Summary- Desperate to find their missing son, Jack and Maddie summon Phantom for help as the last one to see Danny alive. Their years of hatred for ghosts have come to a boiling point and Phantom is not cooperating. The hunters will have to try to convince the ghost to bring their son back to them by any means necessary.

Good or bad, at the end of the night, the family will have to reap what they have sown. Happy ending. Tags: Angst with a happy ending, fanon typical torture, no dissection, Danny wants to be Phantom full time, kinda suicidal thoughts if you think about it, electric shock torture, Danny gets a hug, there's a lot of hurting and yelling first though, some blood, No electric torture in the first 2 chapters.

“I don’t think this’ll work, Mads.”

“It has to, honey. If it doesn’t…”

Neither of them filled the silence as work continued on the Fenton Summoning Grid. Jack soldered hot lead into place as Maddie checked that the Arduino was still in place in case it had burned out. She took her time scrutinizing the processor and where it connected to silver wiring. Her goggles whirled as she compared it to the schematics they had worked on furiously. Usually when they had a job like this they would lose themselves in it for days simply making up the time spent and only taking the time to document when significant discoveries and advancements were made. This time, the Fentons knew exactly how long this project had taken them and it was too long.

6 hours, 37 minutes since the moment they had started to sketch the outline.

She pointed to a spot where the silver lines had melted. Her eyes traced where they had run the initial current and not calibrated the regulator leaving some of the fine lines smoking puddles. Jack followed to lay new silver down. It would still work a little smudged in theory but they couldn’t take the risk. She moved on until she was satisfied.

This needed to work.

The setup was based on older techniques for communicating with the dead. It was inspired by primitive practice, but what laid in the center of the lab floor was propelled well into the 21st century with technology. Instead of a pentagram, a complex geometric array was painted on the floor and they had opted to use conductive ink instead of blood to mark their intent. The intricate lines and arrays drawn on the floor would bend the energy in the universe to their will.

Normally there was a sacrifice, an animal or sometimes a human was used in more primitive versions but here they would use what they've learned of the paranormal to do wonders with science instead of blood. The electrical impulses would be provided by wires and circuitry rather than lifeforce and what had long been rumored to be souls.

Finished with the wiring at last, Jack plugged the computer in. Energy flowed through the conduit and lit up the floor illuminating the two circles. Electricity hummed showing off the delicate designs of the protective summoner’s circle under his feet that started a green glow. A mere meter away, another circle glowed with a similar, if lighter glow. Imbued with the silver, the lines more efficiently carried the charge. The current was carrying 15 amps at 600 volts. The baseboard was insulated and oriented along the north-south magnetic access and if their calculations were correct, the attractor node would only work on a scale-7 entity instead of just the closest ghost.

The hunters moved closer both moving inside the summoner's circle together checking the shield. It had been attached to a heavy base built between the protection circle and the summoning grid in case the containment failed.

They willed it not to fail.

If they had time, they could guarantee it succeeded. If they had luck, it would be the right scale-7 entity that appeared and they could finally get some information instead of running around in circles while the police did nothing.

If they just had more time, they could have set it up with lasers for precision and done tests on what little samples they had from the ghost. If they could just hone in on its ecto signature and summon it specifically, could contain it and get answers but they couldn't risk taking that time.

The first 48 hours were the most critical and they had missed it. Their only option was to go outside the box and into the circle.

Jack looked at his wife as she pressed a button on her hood, ready to fight if the field did not hold. If whatever ghost they did manage to catch found a flaw in their tech and tried to escape because they didn’t have any more time, had wasted that precious window, they would neutralize it and try again and again and again.

The couple adjusted their stances keeping behind the shield. Everything was in place.

“Ready?” He asked putting his hand over the switch that would allow power to flow into the grid and activate. A tear in the universe would rip right there, drag the being out of its dimension and hold it. It had to hold it.

They would use the grid over and over if they had to. They would keep rebuilding the fuses and rewire whatever burned out and draw in that intricate design if the ink deteriorated. They would rebuild it again and again until they succeeded even if they had to try all night. They might have to.

Maddie bit her lip and stared at the grid evaluating it. Her mind, whirling at a million miles an hour, went over the materials, the precautions, the adjustments and what if it wasn’t sufficient? What if it failed? It couldn't. Her eyes narrowed.

“It isn’t strong enough, is it?”

Jack sighed and shook his head. “We could test it out? I’ve got an idea about using some-”

“We don’t have time to theorize any more,” Maddie snapped. “We need results, now.” She stepped out of the circle and Jack removed his hand from the switch just in case. The scientist, the mother stalked to the counter and ripped open the first aid kit. She took a lancet from the kit and ripped her glove off with her teeth as her husband followed but it was too late for him to even react. She ripped the sterile packaging apart and with no hesitation and stuck her ring finger on the side of the tip. She hissed then threw the lancet in the direction of the sharps bin. Maddie whirled around holding her hand steady. Her eyes narrowed at the apparatus.

“Hurry!” She demanded and Jack steeled himself. Adding blood to the mix could do several things. It was a traditional way of completing the circuit, grounding it to the human observer but those were stories. In the stories, the blood had worked but the actual how-to were only theories that had no scientific backing and if they just had time-

But they didn’t.

Maddie dashed back to the circle. Jack took hold once again of the switch as Maddie stood barely inside of the circle at the edge just beyond the shield. She squeezed her finger causing the red point to swell and grow.

"Now!" She flicked her hand once and a red bead of blood flung into the grid as Jack hit the switch.

Energy hummed. The single bead of blood flew over the grid then stopped. Ozone began to taint the air and the blood hovered as it caught in the buzzing field. A perfect circle, it drifted to the middle of the grid and hung under the lights while the ink on the floor glowed with electricity. The hair on the back of Jack’s neck stood on end. Overhead the lights flickered.

Something was coming.

They braced behind the failing wall. Ozone and iron tinged the air and a sharpness stung at their eyes even through the goggles. Something shimmered in the middle of the grid dragging up and through the floor. Power buzzed both electric and ectoplasmic combining to light up the circuitry and Jack could only pray that the processor held. Then as if reality had snapped into place, the space changed and it was no longer empty, but no longer holding that single drop of blood.

There in the middle of the grid, safely in the containment, was Phantom.

Green eyes darted back and forth taking in its surroundings. It had been here before, they knew it had. It froze recognizing its surroundings. For a moment no one said anything, too shocked that it had worked and they were able to hold Phantom still at last. It jerked in the direction of the stairs but was halted by the grid, contained successfully.

They didn’t need to celebrate, didn’t need to contemplate what the addition of blood meant and if it had meant success or not. Jack opened his mouth to speak but the words dried on his tongue.

The ghost spun to face them so quickly, unnaturally fast. Its eyes were always so expressive, so big and bright and full of power. When it saw them, it straightened and glared at them.

“Are you kidding me? It’s 2am!”((Or should I stick with “You. What do you want?”))) It complained baring its fangs but not quite threatening to use them yet. The hunters stiffened but stayed calm. They had anticipated anger. Phantom wasn’t used to being locked up and with that power level, it was a feat that they could hold it at all.

Maddie straightened to look at the ghost behind the barrier.

Phantom’s physical form had not changed since first appearing in Amity Park those years ago. Silver hair, that black and silver outfit, the youthful face and green eyes that held less life and more feral emotion than a real human child could show.

“We’re not going to hurt you, Phantom.” She started firmly and immediately got a dismissive laugh.

“Yeah. And I’m running for mayor.” The sarcastic sense of humor was still present when under stress. Phantom could be charming which was probably why the ghost was so popular with the impressionable youth.

“We have questions and you’re going to answer them.” Jack’s stern voice got it to frown and put away those awful teeth.

“Why would I talk to you? Or do I not have a choice?” Phantom asked as it reached out to experimentally poke at the invisible walls. The grid held without even flickering. It frowned deeper and Jack could practically see the gears turning as the ghost tried to put together the pieces and figure out how to escape. Phantom floater higher but jolted back as its head bumped against something about 9 feet up crushing the hair before hitting where the skull should be.

“Because we’re willing to make you a deal." Jack said with a low, authoritative voice. "Anything you want in exchange for information.” He declared and Phantom didn’t even spare them a glance. It floated down head first to check out the symbols drawn on the floor.

“Sure. It was Professor Plum in the Dining Room with the Lead Pipe. I’ll take a check or credit card.” So sarcastic, so irritating. Maddie snapped at him, lashing out with that worried anger lacing it with desperation.

“Anything! Free passage between here and the ghost zone any time you want,” she gestured behind them where the portal had been locked up tight. “We’ll add you to the genetic lock somehow, get you a key, something, then you can come and go as you please!” This way the ghost boy didn’t have to wait for natural portals to appear or hide in the human world conserving its energy. Unless provoked, Phantom wasn’t dangerous but offering it access to the Ghost Zone, to the endless energy it needed to keep its strength up, that would change how it operated in Amity Park. It was a risk, but what choice did they have?

Phantom blinked at that and looked up at the two past the shielding. “That’s a little hilarious actually.” Its smile tightened. “Why would I wanna come here? This town hates me.”

Jack’s stomach dropped. Did the creature not understand what it was being offered?

His jaw tightened as he tried another approach.. “You know that’s not true. You’re powerful, popular, and this whole town has been under your domain since we were taken to the zone a few years ago,” he insisted. “You claimed this territory.”

Phantom slowly twirled in the limited space allowed righting itself. “Maybe I’m giving it back,” it drawled lazily and ice crawled down Jack’s arms. “Even if I wanted to stay, I can just come and go as I please anyway. Great offer. What do you want?”

Maddie stepped forward, nose almost pressing against the shield. Her voice lowered steady and serious even as every muscle in her body tightened.

“We saw you that day. We know you’re the last one to see Danny, our Danny. We need to know where he is.”

Phantom looked at them for a long moment and Jack’s arms prickled, goosebumps rising as the boy appraised them blankly. No emotion, nothing appropriate for such an impassioned plea anyway.

As if the ghost was guarding it’s expression instead of just forgetting to project one, it asked,

“What’s it to you?”

“He’s our son!” Maddie snarled and Phantom blinked. In a horrible moment, an expression formed and a smile grew. It was wrong. It didn’t look happy, it looked tight and forced and so very wrong.

“So you really care about him, huh? It’s been what, 4 days? 5?”

59 hours since they reported him missing. They wrote the time at the top of the police report with a shaky pen. They had tried to remember, to guess and approximate but they couldn’t tell the investigator exactly when they had last actually seen their son.

It had been 11 hours since the same officer had told them there were no leads.

Jack had gone light-headed as the police had explained that they had tried. There was only so much the authorities could do. The first 48 hours of a missing child case were the most crucial and it was possible they had missed the window completely if Danny had been abducted over the weekend.

Maddie had stormed out of the precinct when they suggested he had just run away or was simply hiding out. A 17-year-old boy was prone to leaving on a whim. There was nothing to prove one way or another Danny didn’t just go to a concert for the week or on a trip with his oddly quiet friends. What if he just went to see his sister at Yale and forgot to tell them? They had called Jazz immediately but she calmly told them that Danny was probably fine. She hadn’t heard from her brother but was very quick to get off the phone with them once she got the news. She was probably trying to keep calm, trying to call his phone which only went to voicemail every time they called it.

As the hunters drove back to the house, they had come to a conclusion. Danny would never run away, never leave without telling them. Sure he had been more withdrawn from them, but that’s what teenagers did. They didn’t see him as much since Fenton Works was always working on new patents and Danny was always doing some kind of after school activity or overnight study. The poor boy was always so tired when they actually saw him at the breakfast table.

That was why they had to look for him themselves. Something had happened to their boy. Sweet, clumsy little Danny was somewhere helpless and afraid. That was why they went home and went straight to the lab, working all night on something that would summon them their only hope, a witness.

Maddie’s dry throat worked before she opened her mouth.

“Please.” Desperation leaked into her voice but that only caused the smile to grow.

“Please what? You wanna know what’s up with Danny Fenton and then you’ll let me go?” Phantom almost sounded amused behind the humming wards and summoning grid.

Jack’s hands tightened into fists and Maddie slammed her hand against the green shielding. The sound was dull in the tense quiet and she cried,

“You tell us where he is right now, you creep!”

That terrible smile morphed until those fangs poked out. The expression was so wrong on that young face.

“Easy,” Phantom chirped and for a moment, they believed they would finally have an answer. Their boy was safe. Somewhere warm and dry, fed and ready to come home.

But that smile grew,

“Danny Fenton is dead.”

And Jack and Maddie Fenton’s heart dropped at once.

Art by @arisu-artnfics Thank you thank you thank you!!!

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