HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HALLOWEEN

MAN AM I READY FOR ECTOBER

I came across an article about the true meanings of children's songs, and one of them was the Lizzie Borden case. Just so happens that I'm in a bit of a ghost hunger AU mood, so this happened :D This shot will be heavily dialogue, btw. Ectober's next week, but I probably won't be able to upload on time-however, do expect that there'll be an Ectober shot for each day ^0^

Also, just gonna put this out there, I love the Fentons to death. Unfortunately, I like to lean more on the to death part during Halloweentime :)

Yes, yes, Danny Phantom belongs to Butch Hartman, I know the drill.

Enjoy :)

-Cheshire

Lizzie Borden found an axe

She gave her mother forty whacks.

After she saw what she had done

She gave her father forty-one.

Maddie paced the lab, thoughtfully picking at her glove. "I just don't know what happened, Jack," she sighed. "Haven't you noticed how off Danny's been? ...Even Jazz?"

Her husband only registered what she said a couple seconds late, focused intently on a small ectoplasmic specimen. "Mm?"

"I think Danny and Jazz have been acting a bit strange."

"They're still kids, Mads. Teenagers, even. Hormones 'n high school make teens a little weird," he mused.

She stopped in her pacing for a moment, her eyes flicking towards the closed portal for a moment. The little specter gave a tortured cry before weakly flailing and falling limp in the petri dish.

Lizzie Borden found an axe

She gave her mother forty whacks.

After she saw what she had done

She gave her father forty-one.

"Hey, Danny? How much have you been eating?"

His mind snapped out of the thin fog clouding his thoughts. Jazz looked intently at Danny, a concerned look written on her face. "You look really thin."

"I always look thin."

"Yeah, but you look like you haven't eaten in months. You're...you look really gaunt."

He glanced at his reflection in the window. Maybe she was right. His cheeks were sunken, skin paler. Dark rims lined his eyes. "I ate breakfast, I swear." Who knew how delicious ectoplasmic mouse meat was?

"Then how much had you been sleeping?"

Danny blinked. Uh. "...Six hours?"

His sister pursed her lips and closed the textbook. "I know you got home at four, Danny. And your light was on after that."

"What ungodly hours were you up at to know this?"

"You're straining yourself too far-did you know that you can only last a month before dying of sleep deprivation? And you've been doing this every night since September."

Danny rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "Well, for one, I'm already dead. And I know it's September," he mumbled. "Right?"

Jazz's eyes softened. "Danny, what's the date?"

"Like...September? Twenty-first? I think. I dunno, I'm not keeping track of the date."

"It's October nineteenth."

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "Okay," he murmured. "Okay."

"Danny? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Sorry, just a little out of it."

Yeah, Jazz.

I'm okay.

Lizzie Borden found an axe

She gave her mother forty whacks.

After she saw what she had done

She gave her father forty-one.

Sam slammed her bag on the table, scowling. Tucker raised an eyebrow. "Who opened the curtains on you this morning?"

"Danny's being a dick."

"Mm? How?"

"He's ignoring us again," she growled. "I kicked Dash's ass for shoving him in a locker but once I bust him out he flips me off and sprints away."

"Probably PMSing again."

"Tucker."

"Yes, yes," he clucked, putting his PDA down. "I dunno. He hasn't been sleeping or eating much, even though the ghosts have been backing off a bit. Maybe he's just stressed with school 'n life and stuff."

Sam spotted Danny shuffling behind a wall, the brief flash of light emitting behind it signaling that he went ghost. "Maybe."

Lizzie Borden found an axe

She gave her mother forty whacks.

After she saw what she had done

She gave her father forty-one.

The ectoplasm ran down the corner of his mouth, the meat chewy under his teeth. Skulker tasted hella weird, man. But hey, he'd finally gotten a way to shut "the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter" up for good, so that was a plus. Ember might be pissed, but honestly, he stopped caring.

Skulker's half-eaten body flailed a weak, final time before Danny ate the last of him. It was surprising how such a small thing could give him so much...power.

He smiled as he licked the drying ectoplasm from his lips. For what felt like an eternity, Danny felt like he was having fun.

Lizzie Borden found an axe

She gave her mother forty whacks.

After she saw what she had done

She gave her father forty-one.

Screw homework. Danny wanted more fun.

Ghosts were boring now. He'd gotten so used to the taste of ectoplasm that it tasted funny on his tongue. He wanted new flavors, new experiences. Something that would do more than simply struggle under his hold. Something like...

Danny inhaled deeply.

There was movement down the street.

That kid. He knew him. What was his name, again? ...Wes?

Whoever he was, he smelled delicious.

The regular shudder of coldness dawned over him as he went invisible. Now look at him...walking behind Wes like a predator to his prey.

The boy stopped and paused for a moment, looking around. The street lamps loomed eerily over him. Wes increased his pace a bit. Damn, it always got too creepy at night.

Danny grinned and ran a finger down the back of Wes's neck. Wes jumped, hackles raised. "Who's there?" he shouted.

The echo only replied with a mocking "Who's there?"

The halfa let loose a chittering little laugh, and Wes swiped at the air behind him. "I know you're there! I-I have holy water!" To prove his point, Wes dug through his backpack and revealed a small bottle of holy water.

Danny laughed. "That's great, fam." He grabbed the boy's neck and slammed his against the sidewalk, bones cracking painfully under his knuckles. The blood drenched the cement. "Too bad it doesn't work on me."

Ooo. Humans tasted nice. Not too chewy, not too dry. Just right.

Lizzie Borden found an axe

She gave her mother forty whacks.

After she saw what she had done

She gave her father forty-one.

Jack sighed. Danny didn't do the dishes again. And he was over curfew. Smooth moves, Danny-boy.

"Maddie! Can you call Danny? He's out past curfew again."

"Sure, hon, give me a moment! And a hand, please, I can't hold this bolt in."

The front door slammed shut. Maddie's ears perked. "Oh, Danny's home. No need to call, I guess."

Jack huffed. "We still need to reprimand him."

"Let's let him off tonight, Jack. He's been through a rough couple of days."

"Okay, maybe we can forget about tonight's curfew. Doesn't mean he can't slack off his chores, though."

"Then tell him off about the dishes."

He could hear the titanium lab door open. "Mom, Dad, I'm home!"

Strange. Jack couldn't recall the last time Danny actually came down to greet them. "Hey, son. Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Not that I know of."

Wait a minute. Danny's voice couldn't echo down here-

"Hold it, ghost!" Maddie snarled, lashing out her bo staff. Jack flew into action, whipping out an ectopistol. That Phantom was standing at the top of the staircase, a wide smile stretched over his face. But this wasn't his regular cheeky grin...no. This was...this was sinister.

"What's wrong, guys?" he giggled. "Weren't you having fun with your experiments?"

Nope, Jack wasn't going to be triggerhappy this time around. They had him in their grasp, and he seemed to be out of it-

"Stand down, ghost bo-"

Something abruptly cut her off.

Jack turned.

His wife had a gaping hole in her chest.

Suddenly, Phantom stood next to her crumpled form, brandishing an axe of smooth, steel-sharp ice. "Weren't you having fun with your experiments?"

Jack fired off several shots, clipping the side of the ghost boy's face. Phantom's smile still remained plastered over him. "I'm having so much fun. Aren't you?"

And with a crazed laugh, Phantom swung.

"You're taking so long! Hurry up, she'll close up shop soon!"

The bundle of kids trampled down the street, knocking impatiently on the worn mansion door. After a few moments, an elderly woman opened up. "Hello, children," she said sweetly, and said children smiled with large, curious eyes.

"Miss Manson, tell us the rhyme, tell us the rhyme! Lana's just moved in and she wants to hear the warning rhyme!"

Old Samantha Manson leaned against the door, a weary smile drawn over her wrinkled cheeks. "Well, now," she began, "dear Lana, take this song with a pinch of caution."

"Danny Phantom found an axe,

He gave his mother forty whacks.

After he saw what she had done,

He gave his father forty-one."