Chapter One: Fickle Foes
It had been a while since Vladimir Masters, AKA Vlad Plasmius had traversed the Ghost Zone. He used to search around in hopes of finding something that could further his schemes which, at one time, revolved around the Fenton family. His schemes had, at first, consisted of killing his ex-best friend, Jack Fenton for all the wrongs that the giant oaf had done; the ghost portal accident that caused Vlad to receive his powers, the fact that Jack stole Maddie away from him…Oh it was such a betrayal that Vlad had sworn vengeance. How easy it would have been to just send his servants to end the fat oaf's miserable life. No, he had wanted to do it himself.
He wanted to feel the crimson life giving elixir flow freely down his arm as his hand plunged into the man's chest only to wrap around his beating heart. He wanted to watch as he literally squeezed the life out of Jack Fenton and watch what remained of his life drain from his bright blue eyes. The thought had been so satisfying, but he had thought better of it. No, why kill the man when he could cause the man to suffer the same sort of betrayal? Ah, a fate worse than death. Jack would know how it felt to have everything taken away…yes that had been what Vlad really wanted. He had wanted Jack to truly know what a true betrayal at the hand of one's supposed best friend felt like. It was for this reason he had decided to host their college reunion at his mansion.
He had it all planned out. He would invite the Fentons to his residence along with his other college chums. There, he would make a complete fool out of Jack by overshadowing him. Once everyone saw just how foolish Jack Fenton was, they'd shun him. Well, more so than they used to, and Maddie…his dear sweet Maddie, would renounce that foolish man and leave him. If everything worked out accordingly, then Maddie would run into the arms of the man who was once her and Jack's best friend. Yes, she would run into the arms of billionaire: Vlad Masters.
Of course, nothing was ever meant to go as planned when it came to Vlad. The reunion had been a complete and utter disaster! Years of planning wasted by one pathetic little teenager who just so happened to not only be Jack and Maddie's son, but also the Ghost Boy of Amity Park, Danny Phantom.
It all started well enough. Vlad had just put on one of his I'm-much-more-successful-than-you'll-ever-hope-to-be suits which consisted of a red tie, a white dress shirt beneath a black Armani suit jacket with matching pants and shoes. His long silvery-white hair with gray streaks in the middle was tied back in a nice ponytail which made his hair seem shorter than what it actually was. All in all, the man looked very sophisticated which, in his opinion, he was, not to mention modest. His entire being radiated with the confidence of a man who thought that, no matter what, he would rule the day.
Those thoughts were abruptly wiped into oblivion when he went to answer the door of his huge mansion. At his door was the woman of his fantasies, a black haired blue eyed boy and an red-orange haired blue eyed girl. The two looked every bit like their parents, give or take a few things, but it was clear that they were…well, Fentons.
"V-Man!" yelled Jack Fenton who was locking down the Fenton's means of transportation.
Vlad ignored him in favor of Maddie and her children.
"Maddie m'dear, right this way."
Vlad allowed them inside his mansion, holding the door open for Maddie, Daniel and Jasmine, but before Jack could enter Vlad slammed the door in his face. It was the only real way that Vlad could let off some steam. He was fuming at the fact that Jack had TWO children with the love of his life. It felt as though someone had plunged a dagger deep into his chest and began to turn it slowly.
Ignoring Jack, who was outside of the door calling his name, Vlad showed the Fenton children, and Maddie the décor of his home. The entrance was lined in green and gold as well as the curtains and carpets. Along the walls within glass cases were matching football jerseys, cheerleader outfits and an autographed football. A few pictures hung off to the side with men dressed in their favorite jerseys while wearing hats shaped like cheese.
Immediately Daniel had taken a liking to it, although he had unintentionally insulted Vlad by calling him a Packers 'fanatic'.
"Fanatic is such a negative word," Vlad had said in his defense, only to agree with the boy in the end.
Jasmine, who just had to ask why he didn't just buy the team, hit a very sore spot, one which had the billionaire almost seeing red. Literally.
"Because the Packers are owned by the city if Green Bay, and they won't sell them to me!"
Vlad turned his attention to Maddie only to realize that she was giving him a disapproving look. He relaxed then and gave her a flirty smile.
"One of two things my wealth has not as of yet been able to acquire."
It was then that Maddie made a hasty retreat to let in that oaf she called a husband.
The reunion was to start the next night, and Vlad had planned to spend some time with Maddie, but his attempts to do so were always interrupted by her children or Jack. It was quite troublesome, but Vlad supposed that it couldn't be avoided. Eventually Vlad felt that those two unexpected variables could play a part in his schemes. Perhaps he could make Jack feel worse by having his own children belittle him and call him a failure. It would bring Vlad the greatest of pleasures.
Vlad, who had taken a sort of liking to Daniel, had decided to spend a few minutes talking to the boy, but ended up taking the boy on a tour of his mansion. Vlad had shown him what was down the corridor that was off limits. He had even shown him his not-so-secret lab! He hadn't known why he had done that, but he had and it was too late to do anything about it. As they walked down the forbidden corridor, Vlad opened a door at the far end of the hall which actually led into another hallway. Daniel had commented on how Vlad was just obnoxious with his money, but he hadn't said it in a bad way. In fact, Vlad had chuckled at the comment and agreed.
Vlad had shown Daniel the other rooms such as a private theater which, at the moment, had Jasmine in it. She, Maddie and Jack had been given a tour earlier while Danny had opted to situate himself in the room that had been hastily put together for his stay.
Jasmine didn't look up until she heard Vlad introduce the name of the room which was pretty much called the Private Theater. It wasn't meant to be catchy, it was just meant to be informative.
"I can have anything I want streamed to this room such as a Packer's game whether it's live or TeVo, or movies that have yet to be released to the public."
Jasmine said nothing since she was watching a documentary about psychoanalyzing psychologists or something. Vlad and Daniel then left the room to view the others. Vlad had a Private Gym, but he didn't let Daniel see it. He had stated that it was a complete mess, but that hadn't been the case. His equipment was separated for specific use i.e. use for his ghost half and use for his human half.
The next room that Vlad had shown the boy was the Space Observatory. Daniel's eyes lit up like a tree on Christmas Eve. He ran over to the giant computer monitor which had turned on the moment the two made their way into the room. Daniel had begun to ask questions a mile a minute which had ultimately caught Vlad off-guard.
"You have your own Space Observatory in the mansion?! Do you understand how utterly cool that is? Do you have a telescope? You gotta have one. I mean, you don't have to have one but…"
"Daniel my dear boy, of course I have a telescope."
Vlad chuckled slightly as he watched Daniel scan the room. He didn't see any sign of a telescope. Vlad had walked over to the computer and typed something. Daniel was obviously confused when Vlad turned away from the computer, but that confusion was replaced with awe when the middle of the floor began opening up. As the two watched, Vlad heard Daniel's breath hitch in his throat as something rose from the floor. It took Daniel a few minutes to realize that it was a telescope.
"Oh. My." Daniel had been unable to complete his sentence because Vlad nudged the boy over to the ascending telescope. Daniel made a very feminine squealing noise that he would deny for years to come as he made his way over to the telescope. The boy was a natural when it came to astronomy. Since it had been getting late and the sun had been setting during the start of the tour, Vlad had allowed Daniel to actually look through the telescope. That was when the boy began to spout out so much astronomical talk that Vlad had a hard time keeping up.
After prying Daniel away from the telescope and promising the boy he could enjoy it for much longer during his next stay (which Vlad was planning on making permanent), the two exited the room. Since it had been getting late, Vlad had decided to postpone the rest of the tour for tomorrow before the reunion. As the two of them made their way back towards the main portion of the mansion, Vlad had attempted to put a feeling of doubt into the boy when it came to Jack's parental skills and mental stability, but it seemed that subtle hints were not easily interpreted by the boy. It was an obvious trait that he no doubt picked up from Jack; that idiot.
Even so, Vlad was not deterred, and he went back to holding friendly conversations with the boy. Once they were back in the main hallway, they had realized exactly how late it was. Vlad had made his way to the kitchen to find Jack there eating something while Maddie was trying to coax him into getting ready for bed. Jasmine was there as well, but only because she wanted to get some water. Vlad shook his head at Maddie, feeling a sense of pity in the pit of his stomach. The woman was obviously delusional. She had chosen Jack over him, something that would be remedied soon.
Feeling that everyone was essentially ready for bed, Vlad once again showed everyone their rooms. He knew that his mansion was huge, and he also knew that Jack was an idiot. On those grounds, he was inclined to make sure that he accompanied them to their resting quarters. Since he had only been expecting Jack and Maddie when he had made his plans, he had their room ready for their arrival, specifically for Maddie. However, he had to give Jasmine and Daniel separate guest rooms on the fly earlier that day because he hadn't been prepared for them. Even so, they had been taken aback with all the features, so it hadn't mattered. Besides, Vlad didn't want to impress anyone but Maddie and well…now Daniel.
Vlad bid everyone a goodnight as they made it to their rooms. Once the last goodnights were said, Vlad stalked off once again to make sure that his plans weren't going to be hindered at the reunion.
Getting a little antsy, Vlad had ordered three of his servants (three ghostly green glowing Russian Vultures who had been tasked to end Jack's life days before the reunion), to ruffle Jack up that night in order to make him a little more susceptible to being overshadowed (not that the idiot would be strong enough to fight against it anyhow. It was better to be safe than sorry, however), but they failed thanks to Amity's hero intervening. Vlad should have known it then, that Daniel Phantom and Daniel Fenton were one and the same, but he didn't. All he knew was that there was an unexpected guest in his home ruining his plans. Vlad had intercepted the child in his ghostly form when he felt Daniel's foreign spectral energy, and the two of them fought. Of course Vlad, who had more than twenty years of experience under his belt, won that altercation.
Right before he was about to finish the child for good, a strange thing happened. Well, not so strange to Vlad considering that he went through the same thing himself. It was more of a…shock. From the boy's torso emerged a bright orb of white light about the size of an average man's fist. The orb began to expand horizontally outward until it was around the boy's body like some sort of glowing hula-hoop. The beam of light then separated in two. One half went up while the other went down, transforming the teenaged Phantom into the teenaged Fenton.
"Daniel Fenton is actually Daniel Phantom?" Vlad had whispered excitedly to himself before realizing the boy would need medical attention.
Vlad lifted the boy into his arms and flew off down the hallway, his mind racing. This was extraordinary. There was another like he, and the two of them had already hit it off! He wasn't alone anymore, and if his planned worked then he would never have to be alone again. He would not only have Maddie but also Daniel as his half ghost son! Oh, and there would be Jasmine too.
He reached the guest room that he had assigned for Daniel and left out quickly to retrieve the medical kit from his not-so-secret lab. Once he got that he returned to Daniel's room and opened the kit. He cleaned the boy up and let the boy sleep, though he didn't leave the child's side. He waited for the boy to wake up because he knew that he would. If the child was anything like Vlad was when he had acquired his powers then the boy would be currently fighting through a black miasma in his head. He would be prompted to wake up by a nagging sense of urgency in the back of his skull. His sleep wasn't natural, it would tell him, and that would prompt him to remember the confrontation that he had been in. That would force the boy to fight through the darkness and awaken either defensively or in a panic.
Just as Vlad suspected, the child awoke. Of course, being young like he was and not very skilled in his abilities, he woke up panicked. No doubt thoughts of being dead, well completely dead, were probably racing through his mind like racers at NASCAR. He had been worked up and confused that he hadn't even noticed Vlad, though Vlad didn't make his presence known immediately. When Vlad did make himself known, he and Daniel exchanged a few words, Vlad claiming that Daniel had given him quite the scare and Daniel retaliating with an apology. Vlad then left the room to let the boy sleep plus he wanted to find some way of using this specific variable to his advantage.
The next night, at the reunion, Vlad had asked Daniel to retrieve a present for Jack which was supposed to be in the lab. He had explained that it was to show Jack that he had been forgiven for the accident back in their college days, but that was far from the truth. In fact, there was no present at all!
Daniel, being the naïve child that he was, eagerly went to retrieve the gift, though he had no clue that it was a trap set specifically for him. One of Vlad's allies, Skulker, had been there to intercept the boy. Skulker caught the child in one of the many inventions that Vlad had created, and was about to do away with him. Luckily for Daniel, and even Skulker, Vlad had come in to check on the boy to make sure that everything was fine. When he found Skulker about to cleave the boy, he nearly lost it.
"I asked you to apprehend the boy, not skin him to adorn your fireplace!"
"What?" questioned Daniel, not sure what was going on or why Vlad had just admitted that he had sent a ghost to catch him.
Skulker relented which seemed to surprise Daniel so Vlad explained. It was Vlad who had been sending ghosts (at least some of them) to Amity Park, but only to test Jack's ghost hunting abilities. He had never expected his ghosts to be intercepted by the Ghost Boy of Amity Park, nor did he expect the son of his ex-best friend and the love of his life to be the aforementioned Ghost Boy.
Daniel, who still seemed confused, was even more dumbfounded when Vlad transformed into his alter-ego. It had been the vampire looking ghost from the night before! Daniel's eyes widened when he took in the sight before him. Vlad's skin was sky blue and his eyes were red and pupil-less, and he had fangs like a vampire. His normally white hair was black and turned up on each side of his head like devil horns.
He wore a high collared white cape which was lined on the inside with red. He wore a white tunic with spandex bottoms underneath. His gloves, shoes, and belt that he wore were black. All in all, he was the opposite of Daniel's ghost form in almost every way possible. Daniel tried to struggle to get himself free, but it was no use. Vlad, however, did state that he wanted Daniel to renounce his father and join him. Yes, Vlad had been that fond of the boy. Daniel didn't even think to do such a thing, and had called Vlad out of his name, stating that he was a 'Seriously Crazed Up Fruit Loop.' Vlad hadn't like that, and decided that he would end Jack's life just to spite the boy more so than to fulfill his need to steal Maddie.
A few minutes later, the boy managed to break free of his prison somehow, and attack Vlad in an attempt to save his father. After many minutes of fighting and breaking things that, at the time, Vlad hadn't been too worried about, the two finally formed a truce. Neither one would reveal the other's secrets, but only if Vlad stopped trying to hurt Jack. Daniel was definitely smarter than Vlad had thought, and grudgingly, he agreed. His powers were a way to get what he wanted. Without them, well, his life would be much worse. He would play Daniel's game for the time being. He was, after all, a very patient and calculative man. What could possibly go wrong?
Vlad sighed as he stopped at a floating land mass that had a floating door on it. The door opened once he got close enough, but it didn't seem to startle him. In fact, he floated inside with a depressed gleam in his eyes. The door closed behind him, but he hadn't noticed. He had moved towards the middle of the floor of what seemed to be his old castle, and sat down. This was his domain in the Ghost Zone now. It was the closest thing that he had to a home. Breathing heavily, the half ghost stretched out on the floor and reverted to his human state. He had learned a long time ago that in his human form prolonged exposure to the Ghost Zone could kill him, but what did he care? He was half dead already anyway.
Vlad rolled over on his back and stared at the ceiling. It was the same as his old home, but that didn't seem to make him feel better. His eyes flashed red before they faded back to their dark blue color. He had no-one else to blame his predicament on but himself. After all, it had been his fault that all this occurred. All for revenge on the one person who was actually there for him even when he didn't really want him to be, all this for a woman who had no intention of ever being his, all for the companionship of one boy who would never love him…yes, he had been such a fool and there was no way to fix it.
Vlad's eyes darted around his domain. It was the same as his old home in the human world; lonely and cold. Vlad lowered his head to the floor before raising his hands to stare at them. He slowly clenched and unclenched his hands, not knowing what more he could do. He shook his head as he felt a burning sensation in his eyes. He knew that he wanted to cry; that he needed to cry, but he refused. He had no right to shed a single tear. He had done more than enough to deserve this fate. Heck, he was pretty sure that he deserved much worse.
Vlad wrapped his arms around his stomach, feeling the guilt eat away at him. This feeling was brought on by the one person that he thought he hated the most; Jack Fenton.
While out in space he had reflected on everything in his life's past and present. Back in their college days, Jack had been more than just his best friend. The man had been the brother that Vlad had always wanted. Jack was the happy-go-lucky buffoon that was the life of every party even if that wasn't always a good thing. He could make anyone laugh, and he was even lovable. Of course, the man had many flaws such as his inability to notice the sensitiveness of a situation which resulted in him accidentally saying the wrong thing at the wrong time quite frequently. Of course, no man was perfect.
Still Vlad had always followed Jack around contrary to what others had thought. Vlad was smarter than Jack and was always at the top of his classes, something that he and Maddie had in common, not to mention he was much more serious, so much so that it could be said that he was a bit pessimistic, but Jack…Jack was just…he was just fun to be around. He, for lack of better words, evened Vlad out. Vlad became a little looser around Jack and would occasionally join Jack at some of the frat parties that were held, but he didn't let himself go. The only wild thing he could actually recall himself doing was forming a band with Jack called the Skunk Punks. That hadn't exactly gone over well, but it hadn't mattered because it was fun.
Vlad positioned himself on the asteroid and chuckled humorlessly before his thoughts drifted to Maddie.
Both he and Jack had fawned over Maddie, but Vlad had been a shy idiot who couldn't get up the nerves to ask her out while Jack's clueless nature and outgoing personality drew her in like a bee to nectar. Vlad should have seen it clearly before they even started working on that stupid prototype ghost portal, the object that had brought the three of them together in the same room and then ripped them apart. Maddie loved Jack.
After months of attempting to ask Maddie on a date only to chicken out, Vlad had finally had enough. He was going to ask Maddie out even if it killed him! He had his long black mullet combed out until it reached just past his shoulders. His face was clean shaven and he smelled of cologne. His bright blue eyes radiated confidence while his teeth glistened brightly when he smiled at his reflection. He had exchanged his usual green and gold shirt for a white dress shirt and black slacks with all black tennis shoes. It was the best that he could do.
After checking himself over for at least twenty minutes, he decided that he was finally ready, or at least as ready as he could ever be. He had walked to the female's dorm in hopes of talking to her, but he had chickened out…again. The female's dorm was covered in, well, jocks. Vlad's confidence had instantly deflated, especially when a specific individual caught his eye. It was one of the biggest Neanderthals that attended Wisconsin University. Vlad didn't want a confrontation; something he knew would happened if he continued onward to Maddie's dorm, therefore he turned tail and ran.
Jack had tried to be supportive and told him to keep trying as he brushed back his short black mullet, but Vlad hadn't listened. Vlad didn't need Jack's support or his pity. What he needed was focus! Jack, not at all surprised by his best friend's attitude, returned to what he had been doing instead. Jack was getting ready to go out despite having to check the calculations for the portal they were working on.
He pulled his lab coat on over a bright orange jumpsuit that he seemed to wear for every occasion, thinking it made him look cool. He then put on some black boots. He debated over which gloves he should wear despite the things looking identical. Once those were on, he called out to Vlad, letting him know not to wait up. Vlad had just grunted before he went over to his bed to sleep off his feelings of cowardice.
The next day, during the testing of their portal, as Vlad put on his lab coat over his Packer's outfit, he finally found the courage within himself to ask her out. He had argued with himself during his sleep that the worse she could do was say no. If that were to happen then sure he would be crushed, but he would have this whole ordeal over and done with. He had to do it unless he wanted to drive himself completely insane. Yes, he had woke up with that same mindset, put on his lucky Packers' colors and strolled to the lab.
"Maddie, there's something I've been wanting to tell you for a long time now and—"
"One second, Vlad. Jack? Did you remember to fill the filtrater with ecto-purifier?"
"On it baby!"
Vlad had frowned as he watched Maddie's long, curly orange-red hair bounce when she turned her back to him. Her white lab coat seemed almost glowing with her radiance. Vlad shook his head, rolled his eyes and turned away. How did he manage to get shot down before he even asked his question? It was a mood dampener for sure, but he wasn't going to give up. There would be another chance later, or so he thought.
No-one noticed that Jack hadn't grabbed the ecto-purifier, but instead he had grabbed an open can of diet cola. No-one noticed that he had poured the diet cola into the filtrater either. Jack threw the can over his shoulder and, out of some sort of dumb luck, landed the empty can inside of the trash can…
Vlad looked around his empty lair before he laid back down. He probably should, as Daniel would put it, 'Go Ghost' soon, but what was the point? If Vlad died, wouldn't he be free of the body-numbing guilt? Vlad closed his eyes and let his mind wander once more.
"I'm telling you Jack, it won't work," stated Vlad, his annoyance with being shot down obviously shining through.
Jack and Maddie stood side by side, smiling confidently at their friend. Vlad had to refrain from frowning. Jack's eyes had taken on a gleam that Vlad knew all too well. It was that confident gleam that Jack had whenever he had a good idea or whenever he felt that something was going to go his way.
"Bogus V-Man, it totally will. This portal is guaranteed to bust open a portal into the ghost dimension."
Jack walked over towards the table which held the remote to activate the prototype portal. Vlad had turned his attention back to the small little 'Ghost Gate' to get a better look at it. Vlad hadn't really been too into ghosts, but Jack's enthusiasm had sucked him into helping with this experiment. Vlad was skeptical and completely biased when it came to the supernatural, but he held his tongue. He knew that Jack would get upset with the lack of faith, not to mention Maddie seemed to believe in the supernatural as well. It was another reason why Vlad helped.
"Jack, these calculations aren't right," Maddie said as she skimmed over what was no doubt some sort of elaborate mathematical equation.
Vlad just rolled his eyes as he examined the portal. No doubt Jack had forgotten to go over his calculations after he came back from whatever party he had been at the night before. Jack, of course, hadn't heard a word that was said. He held the remote in both his fingers with a huge smile that could light the room.
"BANZAI!" screamed Jack as he excitedly pressed the button that would turn on the prototype portal.
Vlad, who still had his face close to the portal was startled at the sudden glow of light and dark green swirls of ectoplasm that had sprung to life between the metal that was keeping it in place. Before Vlad had the time to move back, however, those same swirls of green sprang directly into his face.
"BOGUUUUUS!" screamed Vlad as pure agony attacked his face and wracked his entire body.
The proto-portal had been a complete bust, and he had had his face right in front of it! Highly concentrated ectoplasm fused with electricity and diet cola coursed through him for what seemed like an eternity. When the pain was somewhat bearable, Vlad removed his hands which had been cradling his face the moment he was blasted, to reveal large glowing red puss filled pimples. Maddie and Jack both gasped; their shock and fear keeping them in their places.
Vlad felt hurt at their reactions. Certainly he didn't look that bad? Vlad ran from the room as fast as he could. He kept his hands over his face as he made his way back to the dorm room that he and Jack shared. Once inside the safety of the room, he removed his hands from his face and walked towards the bathroom where he knew the mirror would be. When he looked in the mirror, he felt his stomach flip at the sight. Luckily, he was in the bathroom so all he had to do was move over a few inches to reach the toilet where he promptly hurled his stomach's content from breakfast and maybe even the dinner from the night before.
Fifteen minutes later, Jack had entered their room, looking for his friend. He and Maddie had finally gotten around to moving and their first concern was Vlad, though Vlad hadn't known that. All he knew was that he hated Jack. It had been his fault. Jack hadn't added up the correct calculations! The bumbling idiot gave no other warning than a BANZAI! Vlad had little to no time to react before his face was ruined because of Jack's idiocy!
Black hair had been inverted to a white, almost silvery hue, though the gray strands that ran up the middle of his head remained the same. His eyes were actually a tad bit lighter. His face was covered in giant red pimples that had a slight glow to them. For lack of better words, Vlad had become the absolute definition of the word 'freak'!
"V-man?" asked Jack as he looked around the dorm.
Vlad felt his rage build at the nickname that Jack had called him. He had no right…not after this. This was just too much. This was much more than even the backwash incident and that had definitely almost ruined their friendship.
Vlad's eyes flashed a vibrant red which he had noticed because of the slight reflection of them in the porcelain bath tub that he had been leaning against for better access to the toilet. He startled himself, and his eyes returned to normal. Vlad looked down at his hands only to notice that his eyes hadn't been the only thing that had been glowing. His body had also been glowing momentarily.
"Vladdie?" Jack asked alerting Vlad to how much closer he was.
Vlad turned around just in time to see Jack reach the doorway. Vlad pointed a shaking finger in Jack's direction, his eyes narrowed into slits and his lips tight.
"You!" he hissed out angrily, clearly startling Jack out of his wits.
"Y-yeah, it's me, V-man," said Jack in a calm voice as though he was trying to calm down a child who was about to have a tantrum.
Vlad didn't like that, so he stood to his full height. He was a few inches shorter than Jack, but Vlad was much more intimidating than the chubby oaf.
"You…this is…you did this to me!"
Jack looked slightly hurt at the accusation, but there was some guilt visible in his eyes.
"It was an accident, Vladdie. You know that I would never—"
"Save it, you idiot! Look at me! Look at what you've done! Now I'll never be able to…I'll never…"
"Vlad? Jack?" came Maddie's sweet voice from their doorway. Jack must have left the door open, either that or he hadn't locked it.
Vlad gasped before he placed his hands over his face. He couldn't let the love of his life see him in such a state. No, something so beautiful shouldn't be in the presence of something so beastly despite what Disney or anyone else claimed. Jack turned to face Maddie, but when he turned back to face Vlad he was shocked. Vlad was no longer leaning against the bath tub.
Vlad, much to his relief and dismay, had sunk through the floor only to land in the laundry room. He grunted before he climbed out of the laundry basket he had landed in, shuddering when he realized that he had not landed in anything clean. Disgusted with that little fact he ran out of the room, his hands covering his face. He couldn't let anyone see him like this so Vlad did what he was best at and ran.
Vlad hadn't admitted himself into a hospital, and why would he? He knew how the world worked. People would never understand his situation. They'd dissect him and study whatever remained of him, and that was not something he wanted. Vlad had been on his own, learning how to manipulate his powers, treat himself for the rare times that he had been sick or injured, and many other stressful tasks.
"It took twenty years to fully master my unique abilities, including the transformation," mumbled Vlad as he recalled the years he had isolated himself from the world.
Once he had gotten used to using his basic powers such as flight, intangibility, and invisibility, Vlad had robbed people who he thought didn't need or deserve their wealth. He stole from those he felt couldn't understand true hardship and made a mockery of those who did. In this way, Vlad managed to steal his first million. Eventually the millions added up to billions making Vlad one of the wealthiest men in the world. Once he was as financially set as he could be, he opened his own small businesses. A few of them failed which was why he waited until there was no way he could put a dent in his fortune, so he opened up more. This time around he put his ghost powers to, in his opinion, good use, by sabotaging other companies that would have no doubt eaten the rest of his companies, regurgitated it, beat it, buried it, let it age, revived it only to shoot it dead. It had put his companies in a very good light. He'd never have to want for anything materialistic in his life thanks to that.
Out of all those illegitimate businesses he had one legit business, and he made sure to nurture it into something to be proud of, and that was Dalv Co.
Vlad smiled at the thought before realizing that even that business was probably gone because of his foolishness. This angered Vlad. Dalv Co. was the only honest business he ran, but it didn't matter. Not after everything he had done. Then again, Dalv was much too important to get rid of. Someone probably bought it out, changed the name and was running it into the ground.
The thought angered Vlad to the point that heexited his domain. Of course, when he did this he began to plummet from the floating land mass. He suppressed his startled scream, and instantly turned into Plasmius. He immediately stopped his descent, took a deep calming breath and began to fly around aimlessly once again.
He couldn't exactly go back and start causing trouble. There were tons of people out for his blood, human and ghost. Vlad sighed, feeling utterly defeated. He recalled everything he had lost thanks to the impulsive decision to reveal his identity to the world. What had he even been thinking putting all of his eggs into one basket like that?
Due to Daniel's incessant pranks, Vlad decided to make the poor boy's life even more miserable by moving to Amity Park, rigging the Mayoral election and ultimately becoming the small town's mayor. Daniel and his little friends knew that Vlad was only doing it to be difficult, but they had no idea just how difficult he planned on being.
After a failed excursion involving Daniel, his two sidekicks Sam Manson and Tucker Foley, the mystical Infa-Map and an explosion in space, things began to play out in Vlad's favor, or so he thought.
Vlad had been incredibly annoyed that his latest scheme to coax Daniel by his side had failed that he wanted to make the boy's life, at least the half dead part of his life, an absolute outcast. He wanted to make the boy feel useless; like no-one wanted or needed him as Danny Phantom. Vlad had the perfect plan in mind.
Vlad had personally sought out the best, bravest, and brightest group of teenagers and tested them against ghosts. Three teenagers, one male calling himself Thrash another male calling himself Download and a female calling herself Vid, ranked higher than the rest since they were able to 'fight' with Skulker, and capture him in a Plasmius Thermos in record time. A few days later, they had their first 'real' test run; calling themselves Masters' Blasters. It had been a complete success much to the dismay of one half ghost teenager who had managed to get caught in his underwear on camera.
Again and again Masters' Blasters took care of the town's ghost problem while simultaneously causing Daniel to lose credibility. Daniel lost so much credibility, in fact, that he had felt there was no need for him to have ghost powers. His train of thought followed by the Guys In White arresting his parents caused the young man to go the distance and remove his powers for what he had thought was for good.
A few days later news of an asteroid which was on a collision course with the Earth was announced on the news. Apparently the asteroid was so huge that it would effectively wipe out the entire planet. Vlad decided to see how it would play out, though he was definitely formulating a plot.
People across the world combined their efforts in hopes of shooting down the asteroid, but nothing was working. The Fentons had an idea, but not the funds to enact their own plan. Vlad was more than happy to fund them, much to Daniel's chagrin. With the funds to construct what was needed, the elder Fentons, Jack and Maddie, set off to work. They had made a space vehicle called the Fenton Rocket which housed specially designed weapons that would penetrate the asteroid and blow it apart from the inside.
Jack would be going up in the rocket along with Vlad's team of ghost hunters, Masters' Blasters.
As final preparations were being made, Vlad helped Jack set the coordinates. Little did Jack know that Vlad was setting him up. No-one knew and no-one suspected because, well, why would Vlad do that? Sure he despised Jack, but the world was more important than revenge, right?
Vlad watched as the group of four boarded the Fenton Rocket and launched themselves towards the asteroid. It was broadcast-ed on every news channel, so everyone was watching with baited breath.
Once the team of four was in the area and had their target locked, Jack fired. The asteroid was completely decimated, and the day was saved! Cheers and congratulations were given and there was even talk of celebration. Sadly, that had all been cut short by what appeared to be…THE ASTEROID!
There were shouts of anger, fear, gasps and various chants of disbelief. Vlad hid that sly smile he had been wearing as he watched the asteroid that was meant to be destroyed continue its descent to Earth. On the rocket, there was even more yelling. Clearly Jack was being blamed. He defended himself by saying that Vlad had programmed the coordinates, but it seemed that no-one had heard that part except for Vlad and Daniel.
Later that day, Vlad had decided to put his own plans into motion. Yes, the plan was, for the first and last time, an honest to goodness world domination scheme, something that Vlad stayed away from on the account that it was so clichéd, but it would be the icing on his cake of victory.
Vlad held a meeting in front of town hall to speak about the terrible situation that they were facing. Daniel, his family, and his friends along with a majority of residents in Amity Park came to the meeting. Vlad had spotted Daniel, and the child did not look amused. Of course he didn't because there was nothing he could do. He had given up his ghost powers, so he was forced to sit on the sidelines while things continued to unravel in front of his fourteen year old eyes.
"He said that he had news that will impact the entire world," stated Daniel in response to a question that was asked to him by his little goth friend, Sam.
His friends didn't respond since Vlad had started speaking.
"Though every attempt at destroying the Disasteroid has failed, I come to you offering an alternative solution; one that I think you will find most surprising!"
Vlad grimaced at the memory.
He had jumped over the podium that was onstage, flew into the air until he just hovered above the crowd then turned into his ghost half. There was a collective gasp as Vlad then explained how he had used his human half to walk among everyone, and then revealed to the world that he was indeed Vlad Masters, but he was known among the ghosts as Vlad Plasmius. Vlad then declared that he had a proposition.
"The nations of the world must unanimously agree to pay me five hundred billion dollars and make me absolute ruler. In return I shall use my ghostly powers—"
"To destroy the Disasteroid?" interrupted some idiot in the audience.
Vlad had merely grinned since he was, or at least was about to be, on top of the world.
"No, to turn it intangible," he corrected smugly.
It was an obvious choice to make considering what was at stake. The Nations of the World agreed and signed a contract to make Vlad's demand legitimate. There was no going back now. It was all set. Vlad, still in his ghost form, signed the documents and then he, along with Jack Fenton, went into space inside of the Fenton Rocket.
Jack had questioned why Vlad was holding the world hostage after everything good that had gone on in his life. Vlad did a double take. Is that what Jack truly thought? That Vlad had had some sort of good fortune in his life? The fool knew nothing, and Vlad made sure Jack knew it.
"You infect me with ghost DNA and steal the love of my life and call it good fortune?" Vlad asked, an array of emotions evident in his voice, but most of it anger.
"I infected you? You mean-?"
"Yes fool! It was your bumbling that made me what I am today!"
As the two approached the Disasteroid, Vlad rose from his chair and began to walk towards the door to exit the rocket.
"I never meant to hurt you, Vladdie. I'm your friend. I even voted for you!"
Vlad looked back towards Jack. It was hilarious that Jack would bring that up considering that EVERYONE voted for Vlad. He had made sure of it. Vlad scoffed, shook his head slightly and then looked Jack directly in his eyes.
"I'll remember that when I steal Maddie from you and make her my queen."
With those parting words and a maniacal laugh, Vlad exited the ship leaving a very upset Jack Fenton in the rocket's cockpit.
Once Vlad had gotten close enough to the asteroid, and placed his hands on it in the hopes that he could turn it intangible, he found himself in for a rude awakening. Vlad screamed as the asteroid sent charge after charge of painful energy through his being.
Looking towards a device on his wrist, he angrily asked it what was going on. A little holographic program depicting Maddie had sprung from the device.
"Asteroid composed entirely of unique anti-ghost element ectoranium."
Vlad tuned out the hologram's repeated chant of ectoranium before looking at the stupidly large hunk of rock.
"Ectoranium? Then I can never touch it, no ghost can."
Vlad looked sadly and desperately back towards the Earth.
"And even if it weren't I could never go back. I've revealed my true self. I'd be forever hunted…"
Vlad lowered his head recalling the one moment he felt his world completely stop turning. Jack had left him in space to suffer. Out of everything that Jack had done…that was surprisingly the most painful. Perhaps it was because, unlike the ghost portal accident, Jack abandoning him had been intentional. He had come to realize that now…
Vlad looked towards the rocket, or more specifically Jack who was looking very unimpressed.
"Jack, you have to help me," started Vlad, his shaken up expression slowly turning into a much calmer and confident one. "You wouldn't turn your back on an old friend, would you?"
Jack looked at Vlad through calm eyes. There was hidden anger behind them, but most of all hurt and betrayal.
"An old friend? No. You?" Jack's expression instantly turned sour. "Yes."
Vlad had heard Jack hit the Fire Jets button inside the ship that had sent it hurtling back towards the Earth. Jack's words and actions had hurt much worse than any wound inflicted on him. They even hurt more than when he first got his powers.
"I wish I could just…I don't know, go back in time and change everything."
That was when Vlad stilled, suddenly he recalled reading about a spirit called Clockwork. This spirit was supposed to be able to control time. Perhaps if Vlad appealed to the spirit's wants or needs, the spirit would do him a favor and take back the incident with the Disasteroid. No, that wouldn't…what if he could convince the spirit to change everything? He…he actually wanted not just his life, but his friends back.
Of course, everything he read or heard about Clockwork was a myth, but he was out of options. What else did he really have to lose by looking for Clockwork? The answer was simply nothing. He couldn't go back to his home without being hunted down. He couldn't try to talk to Maddie or Jack; they'd never think that he was sincere, and then there was Daniel. He couldn't face the triumphant boy. Vlad knew that it had been Daniel who had saved the world when he could not. The shame, guilt, and embarrassment that Vlad felt were enough to keep him away from the Fenton Family. He was truly alone.
Vlad began to fly off towards an unknown destination with no schemes in mind. He had zoned out for what felt like a few minutes and was rudely awakened when his head hit a door. He grunted in pain before he held out his hand, ready to blast the offending object, but when he tried his attack just fizzled out.
"What in blazes?" snapped Vlad before he flew around the door.
Like a lot of doors in the Ghost Zone, this one floated on its own with no land mass holding it in place. If you flew around the door, it was as though it was just a regular door that you could view from within a hardware store.
Vlad looked for a door knob and noticed that there wasn't one. Curiosity got the better of him as he looked the door over and over in an attempt to find some sort of clue to open it. He placed his ear against the door to see if he could hear something…and he did. He could hear someone speaking, and he recognized the voice instantly.
"An Observant?" asked Vlad dumbly before he backed away from the door.
"How in the world did I get into the Observants' territory again?"
Vlad wasn't truly certain if this was the Observants domain or not, but he decided that it was best to treat it as such. The voice he had heard beyond the door had been the same voice who had been sentencing Vortex, the Weather Ghost. Vlad could easily take the Observant race, but he didn't feel like a confrontation, not now. Then again, hadn't he read something about Clockwork and the Observants? Didn't they work together? If that was the case then…would it really be wise to seek out the Spirit? Perhaps he wasn't so powerful if he worked for such spineless creatures. Then again, Clockwork was a myth, and there were many different variations of him in both the ghostly realm and the human realm.
"The fabled Father Time and in some circles Death himself…" mumbled Vlad as his mind began to race at a sudden possibility.
This door, unlike all the other doors he had come across, seemed to move which meant it never stayed in the same place. That led Vlad to believe that perhaps only a few people would know where it would be at all times and would know how to find it. If someone were to stumble on it, there was no doorknob to gain entry. Perhaps…this was Clockwork's lair? It would make sense that all these precautions were put into play.
Then again, there were so many unreliable variables to acknowledge that it wasn't right to just jump to that one conclusion. Vlad wracked his mind, recalling several stories about a Timeless Realm. That was the place where the Observants resided. There was mention of a Clock Tower where Clockwork's domain was. Perhaps, like a lot of ghosts and spirits, Clockwork's Tower was behind a door which opened up inside a clock tower?
Vlad was about to try to find another way in when he saw the door begin to open. He instantly turned invisible and watched as not one, but two Observants emerged from the door. Both of their eyes turned up into dissatisfied frowns.
"He will never change," mumbled the first one.
"Then he will remain here until he does," stated the other curtly.
"Yes, indeed," responded the first one which seemed to end the conversation.
The two Observants had been so wrapped up with their topic that they hadn't realized that the door had remained open after they exited, nor did they notice as it remained slightly ajar thanks to a shoe belonging to Vlad being used to keep it from shutting.
"Idiots," muttered Vlad as he made his way inside what appeared to be some sort of tower or keep.
Vlad felt himself smile. This had to be the place. Vlad looked around taking in each and every sight. The walls were dark and dotted with white specks. Attached to the walls were torches at each interval which cast eerie shadows around the entire place. The floors seemed to be cobblestone, something that interested Vlad quite a lot, but not as much as the being that was no doubt inside.
Vlad's excitement grew uncontrollable when he reached an archway that led off into three separate rooms. Vlad tried to use his own variation of a 'Ghost Sense' to see if he could detect which way to go. Of course, it would be the middle. It was always the middle.
Vlad stepped one foot forward before instantly leaping back when the floor beneath him turned intangible at his touch. Vlad blinked, unsure what to make of such a thing. Usually everything in the Ghost Zone was solid when he was in his ghost form. Vlad harrumphed in annoyance before he decided to try to fly over the floor. As he attempted to hover in the air, Vlad felt what he sure was an abnormal amount of gravity keeping him pinned to the floor. Annoyed and confused with this concept since gravity never gave him grief before, at least not after he learned to control his powers; he switched into his human half. The moment he did he tried to take to another step forward. The floor seemed a tad bit unsure of what to do which Vlad found very peculiar. The floor flashed as it went from tangible to intangible. Vlad, curious, pressed down against the floor and felt he was beginning to slip through when the floor moved lower so that Vlad's foot rested on it.
Vlad wasn't sure what to do at this point. The floor clearly had no idea of how to handle his human half, or perhaps no idea of how to handle humans in general. A strange smirk etched its way onto Vlad's features before he took a literal leap of faith. The floor flashed as though it was panicked, the flash going through a rainbow of colors before it settled back into a dark color with white dots. Vlad, still smirking, began to walk further out until he could see a door ahead.
"Usually in the Ghost Zone, humans are the ghosts. Why on Earth would the floor allow my human half passage, yet keep my ghost half from progressing?"
Vlad hadn't expected an answer, and he didn't receive one. It was just something he found himself wanting to know more about, but right now he was much more curious about the task at hand. Once he reached the other end of the corridor, the floor seemed to actually turn invisible like it was hiding. Vlad shook his head and turned back to the door that was at the end of this particular corridor. He reached for the knob in an attempt to pull it, but his hand phased right through it. With a sigh, Vlad morphed and tried to open the door again. This time he received an electric shock for his troubles.
Vlad yanked his hand away, clearly annoyed with being electrocuted by inanimate objects especially through his gloves. First it's a metal chair leg, a car door, a floating rock in space, and now a ghostly doorknob.
"Fine," sneered Vlad as his right arm began to crackle with electricity. "Two can play at this game."
Vlad, just out of spite, wrapped his hand around the doorknob and sent volt after volt of electricity through the thing until he actually heard an audible 'click'. Completely baffled, Vlad turned the knob and pushed, still running his electricity through it for good measure. Once the door was completely open, Vlad immediately stiffened. The entire room looked exactly like outer space only on a smaller scale. He could spot the Milky Way and other galaxies that he hadn't really learned about and he was sure would never be discovered by anyone. He seemed, surprised, but then he snapped out of his trance.
Vlad let go of the doorknob, and the door immediately slammed shut. Vlad blinked in surprise before he turned his attention back towards the room. There was nothing of interest in this particular room, but he had noticed that there was another corridor. Vlad followed it carefully, not sure what it was that he should expect. Certainly someone knew he was here. How could they not after all the commotion that he had caused? Then again, if this was Clockwork's realm, would that mean he was expected? Wouldn't the Time Master be able to see that his realm was being invaded?
Vlad shook his head. Perhaps this wasn't Father Time's realm. Perhaps he stumbled upon nothing. It would have been pure luck to have thought about Clockwork, then find his lair not even an hour later, and luck was something that Vlad didn't have. Vlad sighed, debating on whether or not to just turn around now.
Vlad turned back to the door, slightly alarmed when he didn't see a door. He stood there, his mouth slightly ajar at the sight. There had to be a door there! Vlad blinked before he felt a feeling of dread. He turned back, not sure what more he could do than to just keep going. The door disappearing made Vlad wonder if he was indeed being expected, then again this was the Ghost Zone. Doors were liable to disappear, at least Vlad had to keep telling himself that in order to keep from hyperventilating.
Once Vlad made it to the end of this particular corridor he saw that the scenery was completely different than the astronomical décor from the previous corridor. This room was completely silver with glowing balls of green ectoplasm hanging from the ceiling. Vlad shuddered as he watched something blue momentarily appear from the wall directly in front of him and then disperse into the room, making the whole thing glow and throb before it settled down to its normal color. Vlad wasn't sure what was going on, but he wasn't curious enough to find out. He turned around only to realize that he wasn't going to be leaving back the way he had come.
"Oh Snicker Doodles," Vlad cursed as he closed his fists and swung them angrily to his sides. "How am I supposed to get out of here now?"
"You're not," replied a disembodied voice that caused Vlad to freeze in place.
"I…who?"
The voice chuckled at Vlad's attempt at speech which only angered the older Halfa.
"Are you Clockwork?"
The chuckling ceased immediately which made Vlad tense. His guard, which hadn't been completely up, rose in anticipation of some sort of attack. After a few moments the voice snorted before he answered Vlad's question.
"No, I am afraid I am not Clockwork."
Vlad instantly deflated. He should have known that it was too good to be true. The Halfa turned his back once more to face the vacant wall that used to have a door alongside it.
"But I know him quite well."
Vlad turned back around so that he could try to find where the voice was coming from so he could confront the owner face to face.
"Really," said Vlad disbelieving, scanning the room unsuccessfully.
"Indubitably," was the flippant reply that Vlad had been given.
Vlad wasn't sure if he believed the other or not, so he just scoffed.
"Oh I'm sure you do, and I know Pariah Dark. Would you care to exchange stories?"
The disembodied voice said nothing which only caused Vlad to smirk.
"That is what I thought. I don't know what it is that you are trying to pull, but I would very much like to leave this dreadful place so if you wouldn't mind putting the door back…"
"I am afraid that I can do no such thing. This 'dreadful place' as you so elegantly put it, is my prison. The only way either of us is leaving would be for the Observants to return."
"And how long will it be before they do so?"
"Considering those stupid eyeballs left not too long ago, I would say in a millennium or so."
Vlad's entire face filled with horror; a millennium or so? How could this creature be so calm about that? Well sure ghosts and spirits didn't exactly age like humans so it was quite understandable that a millennium was like a few years to them, but Vlad was…well he was half human! There was no way he could survive in a place like this for so long, not that it mattered.
No, it did matter to Vlad. He would dedicate himself to finding Clockwork, or something! He would submerge himself into the task since it was the only thing he had to look forward to. He loved a challenge after all, and there would be nothing as challenging as finding the fabled Father Time.
"I can't spend the rest of my existence here!" shouted Vlad, his usual calm demeanor and patience shattered by his horrid space escapade.
"Well, there is always the alternative, but—"
"What is this alternative?"
The disembodied voice remained silent, as though he was debating on whether or not to give Vlad the remaining time of day. After several minutes, Vlad began to seethe where he stood. He didn't have the patience for this sort of thing anymore.
"Well?" he spat angrily.
"You could always free me, and I could get us both out of here. Of course, you don't seem to be the trusting sort."
"Free you? The last prisoner of the Observants that I freed took it upon himself to betray me, insolent weather ghost."
"Weather ghost?" repeated the voice, a little humor seeping into it.
Vlad turned his eyes to where he thought the voice may be coming from.
"Yes, Vortex, but I doubt you've heard—"
The voice laughed. It was hearty unlike his previous displays of humor.
"So they actually managed to capture him? It was only a matter of time before he finally slipped up. And you say that you freed him from the Observants? Would you care to elaborate?"
"No I would NOT care to elaborate. I care to leave this place."
The disembodied voice calmed itself down and sighed.
"Understandable, though it is as I said. There are two ways out; the Observants or my freedom. It's pretty much your choice. I can wait, but from your tone, I can tell that you cannot."
Vlad bared his fangs in frustration.
"I won't make the same mistake twice! I will not free you only to be betrayed in the end. How do I know you will stay true to your word?"
The spirit remained silent for several long minutes. Vlad had become increasingly nervous, but he tried to hide it behind his normally confident stance; back straight, hands placed elegantly behind his back, and a face so straight that if you didn't know how to read this man, you would have no idea how truly nervous he currently was.
"I see," stated the voice which wasn't exactly the answer Vlad had been expecting to receive.
"You see? What do you mean?"
"You've been betrayed on more than one account."
Vlad's calm demeanor abruptly shifted to a startled one and then anger.
"You know nothing!"
"I know more than you'd so obviously believe. I know the feeling of betrayal all too well. I know what it's like to have one thing that you thought would stand by you no matter what then suddenly have that thing move slightly to the left to let you fall. I know what it's like. It's all I could think about for the first thousand years of my stay in this horrid place. The jeers and the taunts from those ultimately weaker than you could only distract you from what really hurt for so long; the betrayal at the hands of your own brother; your twin."
Vlad tried not to show the surprise and fear on his face. The disembodied voice had become sad and then it had turned into pure hate induced anger towards the end. Vlad had actually taken a step back. When the voice next spoke, it wasn't as spite filled. In fact, it was almost distant and uncaring.
"I was sent here to suffer while he's so obviously made a name for himself. Yes, I know what true betrayal is like, and I know that you've tasted it more than once."
Vlad lowered his head. Was it really that obvious? Any other time he doubted it would have been, but now was he really so open that he could be read like a newspaper? He tried to hide his shame, but with the submissive way he was standing it was clear that he didn't care how he looked. He was…broken.
"I know my word means nothing to you but if you release me I promise I will help you. I will not betray someone so like myself."
"H-how do I release you when I can't even see where you are being held?"
"Those energy orbs that line the ceiling must be destroyed. They are the reason I am not visible to you. They disrupt the solidity of my form in order to make it, what would be the correct term…miasmic? Yes, I believe that's the term. In this miasmic state the orbs can easily keep me from forming not to mention it can suck up whatever power I attempt to save."
"The blue mist?" asked Vlad, recalling what he had seen earlier.
"Yes, the blue mist."
"And all I have to do is destroy the orbs of ecto-plasmic energy?"
"Mhm."
Vlad looked skeptical. If he was so easy to read to this creature, then there was a chance that he was being used. Vlad didn't know what to think of that fact. He had used countless others in the past, and he didn't like the feeling of being in their shoes. Even so, he had no real choice because let's face it, being trapped for thousands of years was not worth anything.
"Is there any specific way to destroy these things?"
"Give it everything you've got."
Vlad rolled his eyes at the uncaring demeanor that the creature was once again exhibiting before he turned his attention to the orbs. He tried to fly up to them, but once again it seemed as though gravity had it out for him. He then tried to form an ectoplasmic blast, but it sizzled out in his hand.
"What?" he questioned angrily as he looked at his hands.
"How did you get in here?"
Vlad frowned at nothing in particular since he couldn't exactly see the individual he was talking too.
"Dumb luck," mumbled Vlad before looking at the orbs. They seemed to have started mocking him somehow.
Vlad turned into his human form which caused the disembodied voice to make an indiscernible sound. Vlad tried to use his ecto-blasts in this form, but they still fizzled out. With a shake of his head, Vlad turned back into his ghost form and sneered.
"A Halfa. Those are most certainly rare," spoke the voice with some interest.
Vlad ignored the voice before thinking back to how exactly he got inside. He had been human when he walked through the first corridor, but only because he couldn't fly and in his ghost form he couldn't walk across the floor without it turning intangible. When he turned human, the floor seemed as though it was unsure of what to do, but it ultimately let his human side through. It was as though the floor didn't want his human half to get hurt. The same thing happened with the doorknob. It had turned intangible at his touch, but in his ghost form he was shocked.
"Shocked," mumbled Vlad, an idea instantly forming.
Vlad spread his feet a shoulder length apart and bent his knees slightly. Once he made sure that he was firmly planted to the ground, he began to give off a magenta colored glow. His hands were in fists at his sides as he concentrated. His eyes grew brighter, and his body began to spark and crackle with his electrical powers. After he charged his attack, he hoisted his hands into the air and let out a feral scream, releasing all the pent up energy as he did. The glowing orbs above him tried to suck in the power, but in doing so they overloaded themselves and began to burst one by one.
Blue energy began to flow from some of the orbs as well as the entire room, but Vlad didn't let up. He didn't let up until the last orb was destroyed. When that moment came, Vlad abruptly dropped to the ground and lowered his head. He hadn't used that much power in such a long time and it had effectively drained him. That specific power, at its most powerful, was Vlad's trump card.
Vlad breathed heavily for a few moments before a nagging sensation in the back of his mind told him to look up. When he did, he wasn't disappointed. In front of him was a large amount of blue mist converging with one another until a form could be made out. The form was a brighter shade of blue than Vlad's ghost form, and it had red pupil-less eyes. Vlad said nothing as the creature looked him over.
"You've freed me," he said, his voice anything but excited.
"I did," replied Vlad, momentarily forgetting why he was on the ground.
The creature in front of him smiled, at least by the way his eyes were positioned Vlad assumed it was a smile. It seemed that the creature finally realized that he was indeed free. Without a warning or a protest, the blue mist flew directly into Vlad's body. Vlad shuddered before he began to struggle to remove the foreign creature.
"Relax, Vladimir. I am merely upholding my end of our agreement," stated the creature inside Vlad.
Vlad didn't relax, in fact, he struggled harder.
"What does you being inside me have to do with our agreement?!"
"I am so weak at the moment that I cannot keep my form. All I am going to do is use your body to make our escape."
Before Vlad could protest, he felt his body move against his will. He hated his personal space being invaded, but it seemed that there was nothing he could do about it. The creature inside him chuckled, no doubt able to see whatever Vlad's thoughts were. That's obviously how he learned Vlad's name.
"Relax."
Vlad only growled. The creature sighed as they finally reached the middle of the floor. The creature held Vlad's left hand outward with his palm facing upward.
"Spatial Rift," spoke the creature, his voice barely audible over Vlad's loud and booming which echoed throughout the room.
Vlad's arm began to glow a mixture of violet and magenta as their powers intertwined. The energy traveled down his arm until nothing but his hand began to shine. The energy then began to rise from his hand and expand until it was roughly the size of a door. The energy slowly began to swirl around and turn darker until it was completely black. Vlad hissed when he realized that through the inky blackness of energy he spotted what he could only assume were stars.
"Space?" asked Vlad, anger emitting from his very core.
"Yes," said the creature as it exited Vlad's body, its form not as hazy as before, but not completely discernible.
"I know that beggars cannot be choosers, but isn't there any other place we could go instead?"
"There are plenty of other places we could go, but this is where I must go for the moment. I do not wish to make my presence known to the denizens of the Ghost Zone just yet, so the next best place for me is space."
"Well can't you just send me back outside of this prison?"
"Yes, but I wouldn't recommend it. With those orbs destroyed the Observants will be alerted of my escape in a matter of seconds, and since this prison is inside their boundaries, it won't take them that long to get here. In fact, they should be here in a few minutes. Making another portal would take a little longer considering that I am still weakened and you don't like anyone invading your personal space."
Vlad lowered his head before he actually heard yelling from outside of the door. It must have been those two Observants who had left.
"Fine!" shouted Vlad as he flew beside the hazy creature.
The creature entered the portal, and then Vlad flew in after him. Once the two were out in the vastness of space, the portal vanished. Vlad sighed as he saw just exactly where the portal had brought them; the moon. Vlad landed on the giant crater filled rock and looked out towards the Earth.
"Isn't this quite the familiar sight?" mumbled Vlad with a slight shake of his head.
He then turned his head towards the individual who he had helped escape. His eyes widened slightly when he saw that the mist had formed into a ghost. That wasn't what surprised him; however, it was how fast the creature had managed to solidify his form.
"Amazing," stated Vlad as he approached the creature.
"It's nothing," responded the creature flippantly before smiling at Vlad.
Vlad shook his head as he took in the ghost before him. The ghost actually had on a black robe which covered most of his wispy spectral tail and a golden bracer around his left wrist.
"So Vladimir, was there any specific reason why you were looking for Clockwork?"
Vlad had almost forgotten that he had been seeking Clockwork in the first place. Ignoring the way that the ghost spoke of Clockwork and the way the ghost's energy seemed to spike, Vlad nodded his head.
"I was hoping that he would…let me change something that I've done."
"I doubt he'd do such a thing, but perhaps I could offer my assistance," said the ghost as he flew a little higher into the darkened abyss.
The ghost began to fly around in circles just because he could. He had been locked away for so long that he had almost forgotten what it felt like to just be able roam through the open space with no remorse. Flying was one of his favorite past times.
"I want to change something in my past so what could you possibly do to assist me if you are not Clockwork?"
The ghost's eyes and energy seemed to flare angrily at Vlad's words. Vlad tried not to flinch at the sheer power that the other possessed.
"Like. I. Said. I know Clockwork quite well. I know him so well, in fact, that I posses a bit of..time manipulating skills. We would have to make a stop first."
"A stop?" asked Vlad, still a bit dumbfounded by this whole ordeal.
"Yes, to my domain, but as I said I do not wish to make my presence known so soon."
"You've escaped your prison, so I'm sure it won't matter regardless," stated Vlad with a flip of his wrist.
The ghostsaid nothing for a moment before he shrugged. Vlad was right. He was free which meant that it would only be a matter of time before the Observants would start searching for him. Eventually they would go to the one person who would be able to stop him, and that was what he wanted to avoid. He wasn't ready for that confrontation just yet.
Vlad said nothing as the ghost began to form a portal into the Ghost Zone. The ghost then stood aside to let Vlad through. The older Halfa looked at the portal before looking towards the ghost once again.
"It formed faster than before."
"Yes, and I am still not at full power. Impressive don't you think?" asked the ghost who seemed far too nonchalant about it.
Vlad ignored the strange ghost and flew straight through the portal. The ghostfloated in behind him and began to look around the area. The area had floating islands that didn't seem to be moving at all. A few of them looked as though they should have at least had wind blowing on them, but everything was still. Vlad had never really seen anything like this, and was about to ask the ghost about it, but the ghost was emitting some sort of energy; angry energy.
The ghost shot off towards each individual island while Vlad chased after him. This was a new area of the Ghost Zone, and thatghost was the only one who knew the way.
"Blast it, SLOW DOWN!" yelled Vlad as he watched the ghost stop at an island then fly to another.
The ghost stopped momentarily to look at Vlad, his eyes seemed to calm down but just a little bit.
"Let's go," he demanded, his voice a forced calm.
Vlad just shook his head. This ghost was very peculiar.
It didn't take long for the two to reach their destination. It was a very large dark purple keep with a giant window at the very top. At the bottom of the keep was a dark blue door that had two silver handles on each side.
The outside of the keep was surrounded by different colored floating spheres that resembled planets if one wanted to get technical. A few had rings like Saturn. Some had dark spots in them like Mars. There were even some that were extremely cold once you got close to them, making Vlad think of Pluto. There were even some that radiated heat which made him think of the Sun.
The ghost looked at his home and let a gracious smile fall upon his face. He hovered to the glowing spheres and tapped a few of them in a specific sequence which caused the door to open. Vlad said nothing as he followed the ghost inside.
As the two made their way down the corridor, Vlad took a look around. The walls were the same color as the outside door, but had small checkered designs on it. There weren't any pictures on the walls, but there were wall clocks. There were even a few sundials lying around. There was a huge gray grandfather clock in the left corner of the corridor, but it was broken in half.
Upon closer inspection, Vlad noticed that the clocks were set to different time zones, and they were all unmoving. Vlad wanted to question the ghost about the clocks, but something told him not to. This ghost was unstable to Vlad, and the only reason he was here was to have his past changed.
The corridor finally ended and gave way to what looked like a ballroom. The room was covered in telescopes, spheres that looked like earlier versions of present day globes, and papers that had writing on them. Vlad walked over to one piece of paper in particular and raised his brow.
"Galileo?" Vlad questioned the ghost who had continued passed.
"An interesting human..."
The ghost chuckled before he reached a specific spot in the room. He turned his hand intangible and reached through the floor, only to reveal a scepter of his own, one that Vlad recognized from his book of Ghost Zone artifacts. On the base of the scepter was a white five cornered star in between a curved frame which seemed to have a white aura not unlike Danny's aura in ghost form. The scepter was dark gray, almost black in color, and it seemed to have some sort of texture to it which resembled rocks or meteors.
Vlad began to think, only to come to one conclusion. This was no ghost. This was…
The spirit began to channel his energy. The entire room began to glow before the glow started to merge with him. Vlad took a hesitant step back as he watched. When the glow faded the spirit was standing there with a smug look on his face. Vlad blinked, but before he could say a word, theghost abruptly dispersed his energy throughout his entire domain and even further until it reached the rest of the Ghost Zone.
The spirit smiled as he looked over his keep and then his person. His attire had slightly changed which also seemed to have Vlad utterly speechless. Such power…
The spirit looked over to Vlad causing the older Halfa to tense.
"I believe that it's time we had some fun."
TBC