Hey guys! So, this is the first co-write I started with my friend, TinyGecko. First off, Luna is not in this one. She does not exist in this at all. There will be a pairing, but it'll be a few chapters in that it actually starts. And of course, this won't be completely focused on that. So, enjoy, and I'll see you guys at the bottom AN.

Disclaimer - We don't own DP! F.C. is TinyGecko's OC, and the new design for Danny you can thank me for.

Chapter 1 - A Hero's Fall

Danny's POV

"Mom, Dad? There's something I need to tell you." My parents shared a look, and Jazz adopted an alarmed expression. She had supported me in telling them originally, but slowly her views had changed. She began to worry that something would go wrong. Of course, she didn't tell me this. But I could tell. She had stopped nagging me to tell them. Mom nodded.

"Alright honey, tell us." I walked towards the living room, gesturing to the couch.

"You guys might want to sit down for this." Giving me a confused look they complied, Jazz following wearily. I stood in front of them and took a deep breath. "Obviously you've noticed I've changed. My grades getting worse, staying out later, disappearing and coming home injured." They were silent. They had questioned me all the time, but never had I given them a straight answer. I couldn't. "And I've never told you why because it's hard to talk about. And I'm afraid you'll hate me for it." Dad shook his head.

"Son, why would we ever hate you?" I held up a hand, cutting off his next words.

"Now I'm ready to tell you. I'm still scared, but I hope you'll understand." I took a deep breath, preparing for my next words. "I'm half ghost." Their response was expected. Dad laughed, while Mom got an amused expression that quickly turned thoughtful.

"Danny, be serious, you can't be half ghost! That's impossible!" said Dad. I shook my head, and Mom's eyes widened as she gasped.

"The portal…." I didn't expect her to get it so soon, but I nodded. After the moment it took for the realization to hit, Dad was shocked speechless. I sighed.

"There's more…" I was met with a confused look. Bracing myself, I closed my eyes and slowly let the rings move over me, transforming me into my ghost half, Danny Phantom. A horrified gasp met my ears and I opened my eyes, terrified of what I would see. Both of my parents look guilty, their eyes full of regret. They rushed forward, hugging my to my surprise.

"Oh Danny," cried my mother. "We hunted you, and didn't even realize it!" They were accepting me! Jazz looked relieved as my parents pulled away, tears in their eyes. They were so sorry, so regretful, so guilty.

That didn't last long.

Not even a week later the experiments started.

I opened my bleary eyes, eyelids heavy, seeing fuzzy shapes through my clouded vision. When everything came into focus, I wished I was asleep again.

I was strapped to an examination table in the lab, like I had been in every nightmare. Only this time, it was real. At first it hadn't been much. A blood sample here, a power test there. Then it got worse. They began to wonder how much pain I could tolerate. How fast my wounds healed. What ghost items affected me, which didn't. What stood the highest risk to me.

Their scientist sides had slowly taken over.

Jazz tried to stop them, but it was no use- They kept her away from me now. I stopped seeing them as my parents the minute they strapped me down. It was useless begging to be set free, as I was no longer their son. I was just another ghost. So when they came downstairs, scalpel in hand, I knew I was in for trouble.

"Alright Phantom, today we're trying something else," said Maddie. That was another thing. They didn't call me Danny anymore. I was Phantom now. It was like they'd forgotten who I was. I was in ghost form all the time now, too- Though it didn't really matter now. They were too far gone anyway. She held up the scalpel. "Of course, we know that your organs and anatomy are similar, but we want to go deeper. We know ghosts have a core instead of a heart. So what do you have?" No. No! I tried to speak but my voice was gone from screaming. They couldn't do this! My core, my heart, they wouldn't be able to take it! Jacks' face split into a cruel grin.

"We're going to find out if it's one, or both. And then we get to find out how that works." I thrashed, trying to get free of the restraints, but was met with sharp slap from Jack. The message was clear: Don't move. Just to enforce this the bonds were tightened, cutting into my skin. Soon after, Maddie began slicing through my flesh with the little razor, cutting along the same lines from days earlier- the first time they had cut the large 'Y' into my chest. I bit back a cry of pain, that would only make this worse. Jack pulled back the skin, pinning it to the table.

They poked and prodded, looking around. I knew this would get worse though, the minute they found what they were looking for. I saw wide grins appear on their faces, and I knew things were about to get a hell of a lot worse.

"Look at this, Jack- it's his ghost core!" I closed my eyes, I knew what was next. Suddenly there was a horrendous pain, and I let out an agonized scream. My core. They were cutting into my core! I tried moving but the straps restrained me, I was stuck in place. I felt the ectoplasm run down my sides as I screamed again, feeling the blade dig deeper and releasing white-hot pain as my core was sliced. The pain was unbearable, I was slowly fading. The last thing I saw were Jack and Maddie's sickly grinning faces as they cut into me.

I woke up to a tremendous pain in my chest. I opened my eyes to see nothing but dark green and purple swirls. I sat up painfully and looked around, confused. Why am I in the Ghost Zone? Last thing I remember is... being in... the lab... My breath hitched. No... No! I stood up, head spinning. I looked around, and saw I was in a lesser known area of the Ghost Zone.

I had woken up near a house. It was two stories tall, yet small at the base. The roof was flat, and made of wood like the walls. A few holes could be seen in the walls, yet they revealed little about the inside. I vaguely recognized it, it was the only lair in this area. I wasn't familiar with the owner, just that he was a very secluded ghost. Figuring I'd give it a shot, I went up to the door and knocked.

A moment later, the door creaked open slowly, a pale, pupil less eye peeking through the crack. When he saw me, the door opened completely, his eyes widening in shock at my condition. I noticed that he was completely colorless- all light grays and whites. His hair was loose and short, and seemed feathery. His face was round- and though it wasn't particularly friendly, it wasn't particularly hostile, either. Oh, and he had no body from the waist down. That might be a good thing to mention.

"Oh God, are you okay?" He exclaimed. After a pause, he corrected, "Well, obviously not. Here, let me help you." He lent me his arm and helped me as we walked into what I assume was the living room. It had a sofa, a chair and a table, but that was really it, besides a decoration or two. The house had a dusty, haunted house feel to it, and I felt he didn't dust very often- or very well. The ghost led me to the sofa, and rushed to another room- I noticed he floated, due to his lack of legs- saying something about bandages and new clothes.

I sat there for a moment, wincing every few seconds as my core throbbed. My suit was in shreds, stained with ectoplasm and a bit of blood. It wasn't long before he came back, holding several bandages and a new set of clothes.

"Lay down, I need to see the extent of the damage," He instructed in a soft tone, putting the rolls of medical wrap on the table. He gently peeled away at what was left of the top of my hazmat suit, revealing the worst of my injuries. He swiftly began to clean out the Y-shaped wound, adding various ointments for less pain and faster healing, causing me to flinch. It was then I realized I had no idea who he was.

"Uh, thanks. But who are you?" He glanced up at me, smiling slightly.

"Ah, sorry about that. My name is F.C. I've lived in this little shack for quite some time… I don't seem to get along with most other ghosts very well. Now, who might you be? New to this realm?" So he was a loner. I guess that explains why no one else is around here. I looked down.

"Not exactly. But I guess it's different now." He frowned slightly, giving me a curious look.

"What do you mean? Did you nearly die once?" I gave a dark chuckle.

"You could say that." I looked up at him. "Do you know who I am?" F.C. thought for a moment.

"I don't think so. Oh, this might hurt a bit," He added, beginning to wipe away the ectoplasm in and around my core. I hissed as he cleaned it, then sighed.

"I am... Well, was... Danny Phantom." He stopped for a moment, then looked at me, tilting his head.

"Well, isn't that something…" He murmured to himself, wiping away the last of the ectoplasm. "I've heard a bit about you. Not many ghosts come down here, but characters like you tend to get around." He paused, surveying his work.

"You're gonna need to sit up for this, Danny. It'll hurt, but I have to bandage this before it gets any worse." I nodded and sat up, wincing slightly.

"Alright, now stay still. And if you feel the need, I recommend you yell." He warned, placing the end of one of the bandages on my side. Slowly, he started to wrap it tightly around my chest, being as gentle as possible. It hurt, but not so much that I had to do more than wince. It was a few minutes before he finished, tying it off and giving me a surprised smile.

"You handled that better than most who come here for help," He reflected. I winced.

"Let's just say I've been through worse." He nodded.

"I see. How does your chest feel? Any better than before?" I nodded.

"It went from being ripped apart to a dull stabbing. Is that an improvement?" F.C. gave a small sigh of relief.

"Yes, that means it went very well. Are you hungry?" I shook my head. I wasn't. Not surprising I guess since I'm a… a… Since I'm… dead… I shook my head again to clear it.

F.C. looked at me sympathetically. "I'm sorry- the first few days, weeks, months or even years can be rough. It'll get better. But just remember you don't have to deal with it alone, alright?" I tilted my head.

"What do you mean?" He paused.

"... Adjusting to this realm for all your time in death isn't fun, or easy. With stuff like this, I'd assume going through it on your own doesn't help." I gave him a curious look. He must've gone through this alone then.

"You did, didn't you." I didn't phrase it like a question. I felt a little rude asking like that, but then again I haven't really been thinking. Anything to get my mind off what's happened.

He gave a short, bitter laugh. "Well, that doesn't matter now. You're still recovering- rest might be a good idea." He paused. "Well, you may want some clothes first. Are there any other major injuries I should know about?" Physically? No. I guess those faded, all that was left was the wound from the… No. But mentally? I sighed.

"No. Thank you, F.C."

His gentleness seemed to return, and he smiled. "Of course." He handed me the clothes and pointed out the way to a bathroom, warning me to not loosen the bandages. Walking in I quickly changed and happened to glance in the mirror. What I saw shocked me.

The outfit was definitely different. First was a dark green, long-sleeved shirt and black jeans. The shoes he had set with the clothes were black boots. I noticed with surprise that I still had on the small chain necklace I wore, containing a locket with a picture of me, Sam, and Tucker in it. Then I had on a black hooded cloak, a bright, acid green gem clasping it together. The biggest change though, was me.

My skin was paler than before, and when I looked closer I noticed small fangs in my mouth. I shivered a bit, thinking of Dan. My hair was now pure silver, one single streak of pitch black hair striking through it. My eyes were shocking. The pure acid green of my ghost form had been interrupted by a line of bright, ice blue in the center, circling my pupil. It was hard to recognize myself. Pulling the hood up you would only see my eyes, no one would know it was me. I sighed, walking out the door and back towards the living room. I sat down, F.C. in the chair across from me.

F.C.'s POV

I was jolted out of my thoughts when I heard someone walking down the hall. I looked up, seeing Danny enter the room in the new clothes. I raised my eyebrows.

"So, what do you think?" He gave a weak smile.

"It's great. Thanks."

"Of course. Now, I assume you're tired?" He hesitated a moment.

"Actually, no. I don't think I could sleep if I wanted to." F.C. sighed as I sat down.

"Figures. I might have some tea to help with that, if you'd like some. It's surprisingly soothing." He shook his head.

"No thanks." I nodded slowly.

"Alright. You shouldn't move around too much, or the bandages may loosen." There was a pause. "Anything you'd like to know about the Ghost Realm, or do you know enough already?" He gave me an odd look, but shook his head.

"Not about the main part of the Zone. But I don't know anything about this area." I paused.

"... The Zone? Is that what they call it now?" I shook my head, sighing. "I swear, they change the name every half a decade. Anyway, this is basically in the middle of nowhere… Not much else to tell. There is, however, a long 'path' leading to more… Civilized areas, if you'd prefer to go there when you recover." He shuddered a bit, shaking his head.

"No way. Are there any, like, abandoned lairs near here for when I'm recovered?" I thought for a moment, searching my memory.

"Not that I can recall. We could go out and search sometime, if you'd like. In the meantime, you could stay with me."

"No, no, I can't. You've already helped me enough, and you said you don't really hang around the other ghosts very often." I laughed at that.

"You're welcome to stay with me- it might be best, if you'd rather no-one know about you. And I don't hang around other ghosts a lot because they tend to… Discriminate against ghosts my form. There aren't very many of us left, ya know." He tilted his head.

"I think I know another like you. His names Poindexter, but we never got along very well."

"Can't say I know him. But thanks for that, its nice to know." There was a pause. "So, Danny, I don't mean to pry… But I have to ask. How did you get… That?" I gestured to where he bore the Y-shaped wound. "You don't have to tell me- It is a little soon, after all." He hesitated for a moment and looked down, seeming to brace himself.

"It's… How I died. Most probably know this, but I used to be half ghost. About a week ago I told my…. my parents. It didn't go well. They're ghost hunters. They s-strapped me down. E-e-experimented, cut me open…. Tore apart my core." There was silence for what seemed like hours.

"I… I'm sorry. That's horrible…" I said quietly, easing my grip on the arms of my chair.

"... If there's anything I can do, please let me know." He sighed.

"Thank you. You've been extremely kind to me, and you barely even know me." There was another pause. "I can't let the other ghosts know it's me." I blinked, surprised at the compliment, then gave him a quizzical look.

"... I'm afraid I don't follow. Would they be angry at you for something?" Yet another pause settled between us. "Sorry, I just don't know very much about what you've done as a half-ghost- just some rumors from the occasional traveler." He shook his head.

"It's fine. Most of them are my enemies though, I wouldn't want to make your life… Um, afterlife, more difficult. Even if I left, they wouldn't take kindly to me." I gave him a classic 'are you serious?' look.

"Look Danny, even if they end up wandering over to this neck of the woods, I doubt they'd find me or you. And if they did, well…" I cracked my knuckles, "When you live in the so-called 'wilderness' for 90 years or so, you learn how to fight some nasty things." He cracked a smile.

"I believe you- and I can fight too. But I'd rather them not know. Keeps them away, prevents them from bugging me about… this." I nodded.

"I understand. Still, although I don't doubt your abilities, I think it'd be best if you stayed with me for a while. I could teach you some things about avoiding such… Unwanted circumstances. And finding a lair won't exactly be a one-day thing either." He nodded.

"Thank you." It was quiet for a moment.

"So, if you're gonna go… into hiding, I suppose, you'll need a new name." I started. "Any ideas?" He shook his head. I raised my eyebrows.

"Really?" He nodded.

"Not really. Nothing that doesn't sound cheesy or stupid."

"... Hm… What about Soul Sighter?" He shook his head. "Betrayed Soul?" He chuckled a bit.

"Uh, no."

"Okay, what about… Hmm… Forsaken Soul?" He looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I think that sounds good." I smiled.

"Alright, then, what about a nickname? Saying Forsaken Soul, I'd imagine, would get tiresome after a while." He shrugged.

"I guess I could use initials. That would be F.S. Which reminds me," He gave me a curious look. "Does F.C stand for anything? You don't have to tell me of course." I thought for a moment. It might take past events off his mind. Plus, i could endure any teasing.

"Well, I guess…" I paused and gave him an almost timid look. "Just don't taunt me, I've dealt with enough of that." He nodded. "Alright. Forbidden Colors." I braced myself for the jibing. Instead, he gave a slight smile.

"That's actually kinda cool. Why?" I blinked.

"Uh… Thanks, I think. Why do I hide it, you mean?" He shook his head.

"Why Forbidden Colors?" If I had feet, I would've shuffled them.

"Well, when I first entered this Realm- er, Zone- I was confused about why the other ghosts had color, when I didn't. I have no memory of my previous life, so at the time I had no known name. I tended to view having color as having… Well, I suppose emotion. I named myself Forbidden Colors, since I found it hard to feel. Even when I realized there were others like me, I couldn't get it out of my head. The few ghosts I came across out here tended to taunt me for it- there were more back then."

"It must be horrible, not remembering." I shuddered.

"Honestly, I don't think I want to remember…" I looked meaningfully down at my missing lower half and the hidden scars there. "I doubt it was as bad a death as most, but the outcome is still most... unpleasant." He gave me a sad look.

"Understandable." I gave him a weary look.

"I have nothing on you." He shook his head.

"Doesn't matter. If they ever really cared this wouldn't have happened. It just shows I learned that a little too late."

So, there you go. I got this idea, Danny as a full ghost, but I wanted to make it different. So, I asked TinyGecko if she wanted to do a co-write, and include F.C. And here it is. So, tell us what you think, and hope you enjoyed! Next chapter will be up in a few days or so. Questions, concerns, comments, let me know! Please review!

Peace,

Spirit Wolf