Chapter 2
When I got home it was around one in the morning. I once again landed in the background and changed back. I walked in the back door to the kitchen and looked around. I guess dinner had just been left out because of the events of today. I walked through the living room and saw the lab lights on. Curiosity got the best of me, I walked down the stairs and opened the door to find Da- er Jack sitting in a chair looking at the portal which was open and running. I walked over and glanced between him and it. I could tell he had noticed me, his muscles tensed and his breathing got harsher, as if he was fighting off tears. His sullen voice broke the deafening silence, he took a breath and began.
"Twenty years ago...I made the single worse mistake in my life...I was so eager to accomplish my dreams...I destroyed two peoples lives...I've thought about it every single day of my life. How I wish I could change it, how much different...better everyone might be if I had just listened." He paused. "Danny, did I ever tell you why your mother and I wanted to be ghost hunters?" He asked and looked at me with sunken eyes. I shook my head and he went back to looking at the portal and began again.
"My older brother, Ernest. He was a dock worker, a really great guy. He was sorta my role model growing up. When I was in high school...around the time I met Vlad, there was an accident. I guess while loading a cargo ship bound for china, the crane onboard malfunctioned and dropped a ten tonne crate on him. The dock shattered under the weight and his body got washed away to sea." He paused and swallowed harshly. "I wanted...I was so lonely after that. I wanted to find him...bring him home one last time. I think I became obsessed...every minute of every day became integrated into my projects." He chuckled a bit in dark tone. "My math was so off...but I didn't care. I had to finish it. I had to prove they were real. Then I met Maddie, she was amazing and smart to boot. I think it was instant love at first sight for me. Problem was I knew Vlad had a thing for her...and I knew to a lesser extent she liked him too. That only fueled my obsession, I felt that if I finished the project sooner then I could win her over." He took a swig of beer that was sitting on the floor and glared at the looming machine in the distance. "Danny...never believe that you can control fate...hmm...I remember that day in the lab. Hell I remember the date, time, right down to what I was wearing. Saturday October twenty first. I had rained the night before...I know because I had been in the lab since midnight the day before. I couldn't stop...I was so tired my vision got fuzzy so I went out and bought a bunch of soda. Made the mistake of putting it with the prototype ecto-filtration tanks. When it came time to test the machine my brain sorta just shut off, I ignore your mom and grabbed the wrong can...I can remember the sound of it. The high pitch whirl, the relays clicking as the lights flickered on. The smell of ozone, the faint green hue it cast as it opened. The rumble the generator began to make as the containment field broke." He paused and wiped his eyes. "Vlad's scream...it haunts me to this day. I...I knew he wasn't going to be okay, I knew something would be different" He mimed touching his face and chest. "I never...figured that it would do what it did. The ecto-acne was just a side effect, I knew that, I spent nights going over the calculations...learning what I had just done to my best friend. Your mother took it as dedication and began to slowly fall in love with me, as Vlad laid there...waiting, expecting...Danny...I have to be the single worst friend in history...anyway I was able to finally come to a conclusion that Vlad's DNA had meshed with the ectoplasmic radiation he was exposed to. There wasn't really a way of removing it without destabilizing the rest of it. Any treatment could mean that he would die, so I turned to the portal. I figured, hell if it turned him into a hybrid then maybe it would change him back. So I began the single most expensive project that I had ever designed. I never told Maddie about it." he quirked his mouth to the side. "Your mother is terrifying Danny. She despises ghosts...she is a monster. Course that makes her all the more amazing. But good god there is a limit, I guess it stems from an experience she had when she was very little. She wont tell me the full story, anyways, my thought was that I would purposely design it so that it had to be started from the inside and forget about that. Plan was to go visit Vlad and ask him to come and help, then short the fail safe and hopefully the radiation it released would reverse the original accident. Little did I know a certain young man would come sneaking in and try to be the hero." He took another swig of his drink and stood up walking over to the portal. "I've known since that night, when I came home and saw it was on and the analog dials had shorted, I knew" He rested his hand on the long burnt out indicator gauges on the side. My eyes began to burn and my chest hurt. He had known all along and had never said anything. He had known exactly what had happened to both me and Vlad and he protected us. He had risked his entire life to help his best friend...his voice snapped my attention to him. "I am so sorry...for everything I have ever done. I am sorry that I wasn't there to protect Ernest, I am sorry I became obsessed, I am sorry I hurt Vlad, I am sorry I took Maddie from him. I am sorry I hurt you...I'm sorry I built this damn machine!" He said growing more and more angry resulting in him punching the containment ring and dials. He stopped after a few moments he had left a few dents but the portal continued whirling with life, as if to mock him. He slumped to the floor and chuckled darkly to himself very gently muttering "I suppose this is my punishment...to find out...that my son. The single most cherished person in my life other than my wife...isn't mine" He began to sob quietly, I felt tears stream down my cheeks as I continued to watch him. I honestly felt really bad, he had only tried to do good by everyone. He was a victim of circumstance, as was everyone involved. I went to walk over when a hand caught my shoulder. I followed it up to see Vlad standing there with tears in his eyes. He cautiously walked over to Jack's frame and knelt beside him, Jack jumped slightly and looked at his long time best friend.
"Vlad..I'm.." He didn't get to finish as Vlad did something I didn't know was possible, he hugged him and Jack sobbed into his shoulder. After a moment things were quiet and Vlad finally spoke.
"I've wait twenty years to hear that...only to realize, I should be the one apologizing to you" He said very gently. Jack stood and looked at him confused.
"Jack...I laid in that bed, I waited for months for someone to visit me. My anger and jealousy got the worst of me and I did something unforgivable. I saw the first opportunity to hurt you and took it. I want you to know, no matter what, Daniel is and always will be your son...and I will always be your brother" That caused both Jack and I to break down in tears.
Thirty minutes passed, all three of us were sitting in front of the portal, not one word exchanged between any of us. We all just looked down at our hands, until Jack grabbed our attentions with a harsh clearing of his throat.
"I think...it would be best, if Daniel went to live with you. He can train and learn how to control his abilities and won't have to hide in his own home. It will also give him a break from all the attacks that happen at night" He said and I looked at him and swallowed and replied.
"Dad...I'm alright. The attacks only really happen every other night, as for hiding we can tell Mom-" I was cut off by both of them saying No in unison.
"No...trust me Danny, your mother will be very unforgiving with all of us if she found out. I truly believe that if she had the ability she would destroy every ghost that has every existed. Plus I want you to train, you do pretty well for yourself, but I know that you can't always control it. Do I need to bring up the sixty broken beakers from your high school and the countless dishes from here?" He asked joking slightly. I smiled sheepishly and he continued, "I want you to have freedom, and a future. You are wonderfully intelligent. You can do so much good in this world, but you can't if you are always on edge because your mother is holding a figurative rifle to your head" He said and I smirked as a memory flashed into my mind.
"She actually did that once..." I chuckled out but quieted down when they both looked at me like I was insane. "I love mom...and I wish she could accept me for me...but I have seen how she gets when she is around ghosts. Heck I am sure she has a person vendetta against my ghost half...so I kinda agree. Plus, it would be cool to just hang out a billionaires mansion all day long." I smiled but swallowed harshly as Vlad shot me a look.
"Oh no...I would personally make sure you were enrolled in the single most prestigious academy to fine tune that intelligence of yours. You would not be a lazy mooch" He said and sighed. "That is, if you were to decide to live with me" The both looked at me and smiled.
"Daniel, you have a choice to make...whatever your decision" Vlad began pausing to let Jack finish
"We will support you, no matter where you are or what you need" They smiled at each other and at me. I stood up and smiled as I changed over to my ghost half and wiped a tear from my eye. "I want to train...and be the best I can" I said and the both smiled brightly, Vlad changed over and continued grinning. "Ready for your first..." his face went still as he looked over me in what I could only describe as pure fear. Jack's face went pale but hard, I knew instantly who was standing over my shoulder. I turn to see mom standing by the stairs holding one of the newest weapons she and Jack had designed. The Ecto-Eradicator. Supposedly it could destroy any Ecto-signiture within a thirty foot radius and it was currently aimed directly at my chest. I looked up only to hear her growl out two words.
"Don't Move"
AN: Alright another chapter done, I will be honest after the previous chapter I came up with three ideas and went with the second in which Danny's mom is a ghost nazi and Vlad and Jack become best friends again. Tell me what you think. Thank you.