Well this took forever... I hope it still has the same atmosphere since most of this was written a long time ago...

Today you will learn about something they dream of...

Chapter 5

Why would they fight? I can only watch as the frightening flashes come more often…

Danny would be here one moment then Phantom the next and then the process would repeat again in no time.

“He’s jealous.” Phantom stated, telling me Danny was sleeping on the other side. What was the other side anyway? I didn’t question him.

“Why?” I asked Phantom calmly. How many days had this fight been going on? I’ve lost count of the weeks I’ve spent here.

“He misses you terribly. He wants to be with you every waking moment but he cannot. He has school and has to sleep, I’m the one who spends the most time with you and he is jealous of that.”

“I think I understand.” I said slowly. “But why does he come when you go?”

“I am his other half, in a sense.” Phantom laughed lightly, his eyes sad. “But we are really two people, hopefully you’ve remembered that…”

I remained silent, watching him sigh at the black and green sky. His green eyes seemed hopeless, like his one want could not be fulfilled. I thought, what was he talking about?

And then, I heard laughter. I saw a grin from a male African and I had a memory of feeling myself scowl. I remember a boy in green and red and Phantom, wearing a different outfit with a bed sheet.

“I call the fun Danny.” I whispered, feeling a rumble in my chest, recognizing it as a soft laughter. Phantom’s eyes lit up like the stars above when he heard my voice.

“You remember!” He laughed, placing his hands on my waist and lifting me into the air, spinning the both of us around in circles. When he set me down his expression had turned sad once more. “But you see, at that time, we were split in half by our personalities too. So we weren’t all quite sane. Danny doesn’t realize that we are essentially two different beings that live in one body.”

“That must hurt.” I said suddenly, interrupting his speech to me. Phantom shook his head.

“It doesn’t not in the way you’re thinking. We have plenty of room but what I want is something that Danny thinks is already happening. It’s why we’re fighting. I want coexistence…”

“I don’t quite understand.” The word ‘coexistence’ engraved in my mind. I watched as Phantom ruffled his snow-white hair, his white glove blending in so well I thought his hand disappeared.

“I want to be with you. Fourteen almost fifteen years of Danny’s life he’s spent with you. And me, only a few months, maybe three quarters of a year, I can only pretend to fully understand you. And if I have coexistence with Danny, I can see everything, our separate minds can be one instead of Danny just calling me to use my powers.”

“Powers?” I asked. Phantom nodded, floating towards me, an ice crystal forming in his hand. I withheld my gasp, my eyes wide with wonder. I knew Phantom saw me shaking, for he placed his feet back on the ground, the crystal disappearing into thin air. “Terrifying and amazing.” I told him, for his gaze looked ashamed, like I had made him feel bad about himself.

Phantom smiled lightly before suddenly looking at the sky, his expression blank. “He’ll be coming soon.” Phantom said softly, placing his gloved hand on my cheek. “He’s just waking.”

“Don’t go.” I pleaded, taking his hand. “Teach me to dance, just stay here. If you go once more, I swear I’ll run away from here.”

“Where will you run to? Do you even know where you are?” Phantom asked me, hugging me close.

“No but I’ll go… it’s lonely and frightening when you two switch places and I can’t bear for both of you to be away from me.”

I saw the flash of light and I jerked away, running from the balcony and through the crowd. I ran up the steps, far away from the ballroom, far away from Danny. I couldn’t stand having them fight, always tearing me up inside because they would switch so often.

I would rather find myself in the vague memory of me feeling trapped, unable to feel than the wild emotions running through me now.

“My dear, my dear, why are you running?” The man with the silver hair stood in front of me, his amber eyes curious through his horned mask. He patted his white gloved on my head, closing his eyes to think.

“My dear, my dear, you are lonely and scared aren’t you?” He asked me gently. His voice echoed like Phantom. I nodded slightly, unsure what to say to this stranger. He sighed, removing his hand and giving me a soft gaze. “My dear, there is a reason I am called the Mask Maker. There is a reason I am called the Soul Taker.”

He led me to a soft chair, letting me sit in it before kneeling beside me. “You have worn your mask far too long, my dear. All those years ago, I made that mask for you… such a sad day it was… and yet you still wear it. I feared you would become so attached to it that no one could remove it.

“So I brought you here, your soul, so fragile it was, I had to fly so carefully. But it was in hopes of you finding your freedom. It was so the mask you wear could finally come off. It was so that boy, Phantom would not feel so trapped with the other boy, Danny.

“Do you see now, my Dear? Do you understand that you must dance? Every freedom you crave can be given to you if you just pull that mask off.”

“But I can’t.” I replied, I felt tears welling up in my eyes. “I’ve tried, I’ve tried to remove this mask but I’m trapped.” The man with silver hair sighed once more, standing up and patting my head.

“You are not trapped. You just need someone(s) to help you.” The man was putting on a top hat, his amber eyes gleaming. “After all, it’s what they both want… coexistence.” With a grin he was gone.

There was that word again…

It was a word that made my stomach churn.

…But… I am still confused. From what the man said, I am a soul? Then am I really a person in the hospital right now? Was Danny speaking the truth?

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Phantom floating towards me, his eyes suddenly relieved. “You are safe.” He said gently.

“I want to dance.” I told Phantom earnestly, my heart suddenly aching to be on the dance floor. Phantom looked surprised at my words. “But… I don’t know how… and… I want to dance with both you and Danny… is that wrong of me?”

“Not at all.” Phantom smiled so softly at me, I felt as if I were falling apart all over again. “But let me paint a picture of you first.” He requested, leading me to the bedroom I had awoken in. “Let me test myself to tell if I know you.”

“Alright.” I nodded, sitting on the familiar amber bed, watching Phantom pick up paints and a canvas before picking up a piece of charcoal.

“I have to sketch you first.” Phantom said quietly.

“Then tell me about you while you work. I hardly know anything.”

“I was born the moment I heard your voice.” Phantom replied, making a long stroke on the canvas. “That’s when I believe I had my first conscious thought. I was in that portal, just a bunch of ectoplasmic cells and then I heard your voice. You were convincing Danny to go into the portal. And I thought, what a beautiful voice, I want to live for it. And then there was screaming and my body came to life, fusing with Danny’s. I gained his memories and his knowledge but I had knowledge he had yet to attain. When ghosts are born, we are given full knowledge of the ghost zone. We know exactly what our powers are. Unfortunately for Danny, he knew nothing of letting me in while I knew everything of him. So he had to find everything for himself while I was only used for his sake. But although I was trapped, I didn’t mind it all that much. I could hear your voice from here and when I closed my eyes, you were there.”

I blushed at his words. “And what about coexistence?” Phantom sighed.

“We are two people in one body, surely both of us would like to live our own lives but since we can’t we have to compromise. I’ve had to live with only hearing your voice and watching his memories but I want more. We want more, now that he knows I am a separate being. We should like to live together – ah, sit a little straighter – but there is no guarantee we can live so peacefully.” Phantom’s gaze was soft.

“I can only imagine how beautiful you’ll look the moment the mask comes off.” Phantom showed me his charcoal sketch with my mask as the most distracting feature.

Adieu
Nightwing