A Message From Middle-earth
Another collaborative work of Miriam1 and Cynthia
Summary: One-shot based on the "A Ghost in Middle-Earth" series, wherein Danny finds out that Vlad has been to Middle-earth.
The main inspiration for this particular fic came from Inukagome15's review of chapter 19 of "What Becomes of an Enemy?" The salient part of the review is here:
I wonder if the elves understand the fact that Vlad can't really send their regards to Danny because he hasn't met them yet. The sad thing is that he never will because he's gone from Earth by the time Danny stumbles into their world. Who knows, maybe he has a random note lying around sometime saying: "Note to self: Give Danny Elrond's and Glorfindel's regards." Then Danny would be wondering just when Vlad went to Middle-Earth.
Cynthia asked me what I thought of the idea of Vlad actually leaving a note for Danny. And so, here it is. Thank you once again to all who stuck with all of our Middle-earth fics. But Inukagome15, this one's for you.
Disclaimer: We own neither Danny Phantom nor Middle-earth.
July 19, 2006
It had taken a month for all of the brouhaha over the Disasteroid to die down. The chaos over the Earth's impending destruction, the shocking revelation that Amity Park mayor and billionaire Vlad Masters was a half-ghost, the euphoria of being saved by ghostly hero Danny Phantom, and the surprising revelation of his being half-ghost had taken a long time to settle down. Since the statues in Danny Phantom's honor had been erected, the US government now had time to deal with all the fallout over an American citizen holding the world hostage.
All of Vlad Masters' residences were searched with a fine-toothed comb. All of his accounts and businesses were carefully examined. Besides both valid and dummy corporations, immoral business practices, and illegally acquired funds and businesses, ghost labs were discovered underneath three of Vlad Masters' homes, at least within the US.
As the FBI confiscated ghost equipment in the lab beneath the Amity Park mansion, the agents noticed a mostly clean table in one corner. Sitting on the table to one side was an envelope. One agent picked it up. In the former mayor's handwriting, it was clearly addressed: To Daniel Fenton. Below, it read: "Please do not open before August 31, 2006."
September 1, 2006
Danny was relieved that he was home. It was strange to wake up at 3:00 am in his own room to his ghost sense after two weeks of being woken after 8:00 am by an elf's polite knock on the door. That was just normal life at home kicking in. He was never so happy to see the Box Ghost. Danny almost considered letting him off with a warning if he hadn't shouted "Beware!" one too many times.
Today he would hang out with his friends. If not for the well-crafted arrow he received from Haldar, he doubted Sam and Tucker would have believed his story about the two weeks he spent in Middle-earth. Even with all the bizarre things they've seen over the course of fighting ghosts with him, this seemed to go beyond the weirdness that they've learned to expect to pass for normal.
Danny met his two best friends at the Nasty Burger. Sam was complaining about the visit with her family when two men entered, both wearing dark suits. They walked over to the table where Danny, Sam, and Tucker sat. Uncomfortably, Danny remembered the Guys in White. His friends also stiffened at the approach of the two official-looking men.
"Mr. Fenton?" The older of the two asked.
Danny relaxed. They couldn't possibly be from the Guys in White; they weren't wearing white. Still, what could these men want with him? Warily, Danny said, "That's me. Can I help you?"
The two men pulled leather books from their pockets. As they showed their government badges, the older agent explained. "I'm Agent Weaving, and this is Agent Reeves. We're from the FBI."
Danny looked at the badges and nodded. Putting his badge away, Agent Weaving continued. "We'd like to speak with you privately." The agent looked pointedly at Sam and Tucker while his partner made sure the other customers weren't listening in.
Danny smiled. "Anything you need to say to me can be said in front of these two." Sam nodded, looking distrustfully at the two agents.
Tucker grinned. "That's right." He was the new mayor of Amity Park, after all.
The two agents looked at each other. Agent Weaving turned back to Danny and nodded in agreement. "Alright. But I'd still like to go someplace more private." Danny and his friends stood and walked outside with the agents.
Standing in an alley behind the Nasty Burger, Danny faced the agents, Sam and Tucker flanking him. "So, what's this all about?" Danny asked.
Agent Weaving began, "After the Disasteroid crisis, we looked into Vlad Masters' businesses and various residences. Part of what we were looking for was evidence for illegal business activity."
Danny's eyes went wide. "Vlad told me…"
Agent Reeves cut him off. "We found most of it. That has nothing to do with you."
Agent Weaving continued. "In our exploration of his residences, we located his ghost labs. While we were confiscating the technology in the lab in his mansion here in Amity Park, we discovered this." He held out an envelope addressed to Danny. "We found it over a month ago. We are only just giving it to you now because first, it asked that it not be read before August 31. Second, we needed to make sure that there was nothing on or in the envelope that would harm you."
Danny took the envelope. The handwriting was clearly Vlad's. Flipping it over, he carefully slit it open. He pulled out a single folded sheet of paper. Unfolding it, Danny found it was a letter dated February 19, 2006. Danny looked at the agents in shock. "It's dated six and a half months ago." They looked as confused as he was. He looked down at the letter and read it.
Dear Daniel,
I hope this letter finds you well. I have just come back from a 17-day adventure in Middle-earth. It is six months before your adventure in our time, but it was 4,000 years later than your visit in their time. (You have to love the mechanics of time travel with natural portals.) Elrond and Glorfindel have fond memories of you, and if it was part of their culture, I'm sure they would send their regards.
Over the course of my time there, I reflected on a few of my schemes regarding you. A few times, I might have been a bit careless with regards to your safety. I do not regret my efforts to get you to join me. I do regret that some of those attempts had gone overboard and would have had disastrous results if they were, indeed, successful.
You are too valuable to lose permanently. I just thought you should know.
Sincerely,
Vlad
Danny was silent as he absorbed the words in this letter. Sam grabbed one of his hands. Tucker stared at Danny and said, "Dude, is that even possible?" The two federal agents looked at Danny – the ghost boy was the expert on what was possible with ghosts.
Danny looked at his friends and the agents. "I don't know, but there is only one way to find out."
The agents escorted the teens back to Fenton Works. Jack was disappointed that the agents present were not the Guys in White, but they still excited him nonetheless.
Maddie asked, "Sweetie, who were those agents, and what did they want with you?"
Danny answered, "They were from the FBI. They found a letter in one of Vlad's labs addressed to me."
The adult Fentons' eyes hardened. "What did he want with you, son?" The anger in Jack's voice made Sam and Tucker stare in disbelief.
"Well… it was a letter almost of apology and sending regards from Elrond and Glorfindel of Middle-earth."
Maddie said, "That can't be right. He was gone two months before you got there."
Sam thought about this. "He said it was a complication of natural portals."
Maddie frowned in thought. "That ghost friend of yours, Clockwork, said he was responsible for the 'natural' portals that sent you on a two-week adventure. I wonder if he is responsible for… this."
"We were thinking of going to Clockwork and asking about it," Danny said.
"Oh, no you don't! The last time you paid him a visit, he took you away without permission!"
Jack looked lovingly at his wife but pouted. "But… but he said Danny was a hero there, too."
Maddie rolled her eyes. "Yes, he did. But our son's quality of character did not give him the right to send him away without our permission, or even letting us know first!"
Jazz, always the logical one, and ready to depart for college on Sunday, said, "Mom, why don't you go with Danny to visit Clockwork? That way, you will be in charge."
"Jazz…" Danny wasn't sure he wanted his mother along for the ride. If she came, his dad would want to come, too. He loved his father, but still… "I don't want to make a federal case out of this."
"It already is," Tucker supplied. "I mean, the FBI brought you the letter."
Danny glared, and through his teeth said, "Not helping."
Coming to a decision, Maddie said, "Jazz, that is an excellent idea."
Closing his eyes, Danny sighed. "Fine. Who is making this trip with me?" Sam elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow! I mean, besides Sam and Tucker?"
Aware of the fact that she started this round of Danny's stress, Jazz sought to relieve it a little. "Why doesn't Mom go with you? Dad can take me shopping for last minute dorm supplies."
This provided the distraction she hoped it would. "I'll start up the RV!"
Maddie shook her head at her husband's antics. "Right, then. We'll be back later." She kissed Jazz and gave Jack a peck on the cheek. Danny cringed at their public display of affection, and decided that now was a good time to start a hasty retreat to the lab.
Over the two and a half months since the Distasteroid crisis, Jack and Maddie rebuilt the Ghost Portal (this time, the 'on' button was outside the portal) and the Specter Speeder. Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Maddie clambered into the new Specter Speeder, with Tucker taking the controls. He still had the directions for how to get there in his PDA.
In under half an hour, they got to Clockwork's tower. Danny led the merry band up the stairs, but before he knocked, Clockwork opened the door. "Come in. I've been expecting you."
Maddie looked at him. "But how did you know…?"
Clockwork smiled. "I know everything." Disgruntled, Maddie walked with them into a chamber that had a view screen in the shape of a cog.
Danny said, "Today, two FBI agents gave me a letter Vlad wrote more than six months ago, talking about an adventure to Middle-earth 4,000 years later than I was there."
"So you got the letter. Good."
Sam asked, "How is it even possible that Vlad was there so much later, but he went so much earlier?"
Clockwork shifted from a middle-aged man to a child. "It is a time paradox. They happen frequently with natural portals."
Maddie eyed him suspiciously. "There was nothing natural about it if you arranged it."
A pleased smile appeared on Clockwork's face. "This is also true." This gave them something to think about.
After a few moments, Danny broke the silence. "So when did Vlad go to Middle-earth, our time?"
Clockwork answered, "February 17, 2006. It was a Friday." The people in front of him tried to figure this out. Deciding that things had gotten confusing enough, Clockwork clarified a few of them. "Danny, do you remember what you said when your Elven friends were convalescing, describing the firepower you used?"
Danny winced at the memory of what he'd done. "Not exactly."
Clockwork raised his staff to the cog view screen. "Let me remind you."
The scene coalesced into one of a hospital wing of some sort. A dark-haired person with gray eyes and pointed ears (Sam, Tucker, and Maddie guessed he was an elf. Danny knew him to be Elrond) creased his eyebrows, though his eyes were vaguely glazed. He said, "You fought four Houseless that day?"
Danny on the screen nodded. "Removing the Houseless was far more difficult than getting rid of a ghost that overshadows a person. I've never used that much firepower on a living being who wasn't also a half-ghost." The screen went dark.
Danny, in Clockwork's tower, said, "Yeah. I remember fighting with Vlad. We did that a lot."
Clockwork smiled again. "Do you remember this one?"
Spotting Vlad after he stole the Infi-Map again, Danny called out, "Hold it right there, Plasmius!"
The evil half-ghost rolled his eyes, but then refocused on Danny. "Daniel, it's so good to see you again. How is your father doing? Tired of his bumbling idiocy yet?"
Maddie growled as she saw this. "Shh, Mom. Nothing came of it. Not to worry," Danny soothed.
On the screen, Danny yelled, "Not a chance, Vlad! Now hand over the Infi-Map!"
Vlad grinned, revealing his fangs. "Do you really think you can beat me? I'm far more powerful than you. I could squash you like a bug."
Danny smirked. "I've beaten you before. Remember the hunting lodge?"
Maddie gasped. "What happened then? We were in Colorado!"
Her son standing next to her said, "I'll tell you later."
Vlad winced. "You didn't beat me. You turned my ghost animals against me. Besides, you don't have the Plasmius Maximus this time." He fired a pink ectoblast at Danny. Maddie fumed as she watched, and her son put a steadying hand on her arm.
Danny dodged Vlad's blast and fired his own green ectoblast back at Vlad. The older halfa raised an ectoshield and fired another blast. Danny was hit, throwing him a few feet backwards. The teen fired a cryoblast, freezing Vlad. The billionaire quickly broke free of the ice and blasted Danny again. Danny barely managed to duck in time and fired another ectoblast, stunning Vlad long enough for the boy to get the Infi-Map from him. Before Vlad could respond to this, Danny fired again. The man screamed as he was thrown back into a temporary portal that opened behind him and closed after Vlad fell through. The screen went dark again.
Clockwork said, "That was the time you used comparable firepower on a living being. And that was when Vlad came to Middle-earth."
Danny blinked. "But that was before I… Four thousand years later? But I don't understand."
Clockwork put a hand on his back. "Don't worry. Everything is as it should be."
Danny tried again. "What did Vlad do while he was there?"
"He met Elrond and Glorfindel, and he learned how special you truly are. Also, he created battle plans and fought, annihilating the evil forces that sought to destroy a worthy kingdom of humans in Middle-earth. The enemy was defeated, and the scene was set for the return of the king that happened over 1,000 years after Vlad's visit. Perhaps, on a different visit, I'll tell you the whole story. The history of Middle-earth is a long one, and the parts you will probably be most interested in, the history of the two elves who learned to speak English and the ultimate fall of Sauron, is a lengthy tale. It will take time to tell it. But when you come again so I can tell you the tale, I promise that I will send word to your parents if it takes longer than anticipated."
The people assembled before him took some time to assimilate this. Maddie was about to give her thoughts on Danny's coming back here, but Sam got there first. "What do you mean, he learned how special Danny is?"
Clockwork thought about how to word this so that he would protect Vlad's privacy, and yet satisfy the curiosity of the assemblage. "After a run-in with a force more terrifying than the Soul Shredder," here the teens winced, and Tucker shuddered, "Vlad reassessed a few things and vowed to never further attempt permanent harm on you, Danny."
Danny protested, "But the Blood Blossoms…"
Clockwork changed into an old man. "Were before Vlad's adventure. Remember, you had ice powers, which you discovered some time after your initial introduction to Frostbite." Danny frowned as he tried to remember the time frame. He realized that after that incident Clockwork showed them, Vlad used no specific schemes to hurt him. After Valerie captured them, when Danny rescued Danielle, Vlad's attack on him was more inconvenient than detrimental. Even during the Disasteroid crisis, Vlad didn't do anything but embarrass him. The thought made him shiver.
Sam slipped an arm around his waist. "Don't worry about it." Danny looked at her. "He's gone, you're safe, and the last thought he shared with you was that he was kind of sorry for hurting you."
Tucker said, "That's good news."
Danny shrugged. "I guess."
Clockwork smiled and became a young man. His form shift caught Maddie's attention. She closed her eyes for a minute. After she opened them, she almost growled in annoyance but said, "Let's talk about scheduling. When do you want this later visit to happen?"
Clockwork's smile broadened. "Whenever works for you. I have plenty of time."