Mother Knows Best

In the kingdom of Amity Park, three bandits-two ghosts, one human-were sliding down and jumping over the roofs of the palace. A guard walked past, but the bandits had disappeared. As soon as he left, one of the bandits appeared, after having been invisible.

The bandit was a handsome ghost man, with green hair held back by a bandanna, except for one bang, and a ponytail. He had pale skin, green eyes, and was wearing a dark grey vest with green accents, a green pirate-style shirt, light grey trousers and black boots. The ghost was Youngblood, and he was one of the most wanted-and one of the most charming-bandits in the human world and the Ghost Zone.

Youngblood, who had been looking down to check to see if there were any more guards, looked at the view, and was instantly amazed by it.

"WOW! I could get used to a view like this," Youngblood said.

"Youngblood! Come on!" one of Youngblood's bandit partners, Vlad Plasmius, demanded as he held a rope, while his brother, Vlad Masters, held a tile for the roof to make a space for Youngblood to go through. They were both getting annoyed with Youngblood's diverted attention.

"Hold on… yep, I'm used to it. Guys I want a castle," Youngblood told them, still admiring the view.

"We do this job, you can buy your own castle," Plasmius said, before he grabbed the back of Youngblood's vest and pulled him away, causing him to let out a startled yelp.

…

Later

A few seconds later, Youngblood, now with the rope tied around his waist, was lowered down by Plasmius and Masters, holding a satchel. The three bandits were going to steal the lost princess's crown, which was currently in it's human world form; only the princess herself could wear the crown as it's ghost form in the human world, and vice versa in the Ghost Zone. The crown was guarded with nine guards, who were not noticing Youngblood being lowered down to the crown.

One of the guards suddenly sneezed and Youngblood asked, "Oh. Hay fever?"

"Yeah," the guard answered, turning to see Youngblood at the now-empty pedestal, his elbow resting on the cushion the crown had previously sat on, the crown itself now in the satchel.

The guard turned back, before realising that Youngblood was there and the crown was gone. He turned back around, and saw Youngblood just flying through the hole, having escaped with the crown.

"Wait! Hey, wait!" the guard shouted, alerting the others.

…

Later

Youngblood, Plasmius and Masters were now running- or in Youngblood and Plasmius' cases, flying-across the bridge, heading for the forest on the mainland so that they could find a natural portal to escape through into the Ghost Zone.

"Can't you picture me in a castle of my own? Because I certainly can. All the things we've seen and it's only eight in the morning! Gentlemen, this is a very big day!" Youngblood said to Plasmius and Masters as they escaped into the forest.

…

Meanwhile

Back in her tower, Dani was packing away her paints, Amorpho helping her, feeling really excited.

"This is it. This is a very big day, Amorpho," Dani said to him as they finished packing away her paints, Amorpho flying up onto her wrist.

Dani chuckled and continued, "I'm finally gonna do it. I'm gonna ask her."

Suddenly, Spectra called, "Danielle!"

Dani gasped, looking at the window, as Spectra continued to call from outside, "Let down your hair!"

"It's time!" Dani whispered to Amorpho, who was now on her shoulder.

Amorpho gave her a look as he puffed up his chest, intimidating Spectra.

"I know, I know. Come on, don't let her see you," Dani whispered to him as Amorpho changed into a gecko and climbed onto Dani's new painting, turning invisible. Dani pulled the curtains over the painting for good measure and changed into her ghost form, flying down from the mantelpiece and heading towards the window, as Spectra continued calling for her.

"Danielle! I'm not getting any younger down here!"

"Coming, Mother!" Dani called down, now in her human form. She stood up on the window ledge and threw up her hair onto a hook attached, before throwing the end of her hair down, creating a way up for Spectra.

Spectra twisted the end of Dani's hair around her hand and stepped onto the ledge that the end of Dani's hair had made and Dani pulled her mother up, using the hook and her own hair as a pulley system and an effective way for Spectra to enter the tower, despite that Spectra could have flown up there no problem.

Eventually, Spectra had arrived and stepped onto the window sill, letting go of Dani's hair.

"Hi. Welcome home, Mother," Dani greeted, panting.

"Oh, Danielle, how you manage to do that every single day without fail! It looks absolutely exhausting, my darling," Spectra said to Dani giving her a concerned look.

"Oh, it's nothing," Dani brushed off, even though she was exhausted.

"Then I don't know why it takes so long," Spectra told her.

Dani looked at her, shocked, before Spectra chuckled.

"Oh, darling, I'm just teasing," Spectra said as she walked past Dani.

Dani laughed, before looking down nervously as she muttered, "All right."

She walked up to Spectra, who paused in front of a full-length mirror, and started, "So, Mother, as you know, tomorrow is a very big-"

"Danielle, look in that mirror," Spectra interrupted, pulling Dani to stand beside her as she continued, "You know what I see? I see a strong, confident, beautiful young lady."

Dani smiled at what she thought was a compliment for her, and then Spectra added, "Oh look, you're here too."

Dani got a hurt look on her face and Spectra laughed as she let go of Dani and leaned in to look at herself in the mirror.

"I'm just teasing! Stop taking everything so seriously," Spectra said as she admired herself.

Dani, getting over her hurt, steeled up her courage and continued on with her earlier plan.

"Okay. So, Mother, as I was saying, tomorrow is-" Dani tried again, but Spectra, who had noticed a spot on her hand, interrupted her once again, "Danielle, Mother's feeling a little run-down. Would you sing for me, dear? Then we'll talk."

"Oh! Of course, Mother!" Dani said, and then ran off.

Dani grabbed her mother's chair, then used her telekinesis to grab the stool that she sat on, as Spectra walked up to her chair. Dani then sat Spectra down and placed a hairbrush and her hair into Spectra's hands and then sitting down on the stool, wanting to get this done so that she could talk to Spectra.

"Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine, make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine," Dani sang very fast as her hair glowed white.

Spectra, not used to Dani being this fast, shouted, "Wait, wait!," but her shouts went unheard as Dani continued to sing, "Heal what has been hurt, change the Fates' design, save what has been lost, bring back what once was mine!"

Spectra, knowing that she couldn't get Dani to slow down, began brushing her hair really fast, until the hair she was brushing turned white and Spectra's youth was once again restored.

"Danielle!" Spectra exclaimed, about to scold Dani, but before she could, Dani got right in her face as she said, "So Mother, earlier I was saying tomorrow is a pretty big day, and you didn't respond. So, I'm just gonna tell you, it's my birthday! Ta-da!"

"No, no, no. Can't be," Spectra said as Dani got out of her personal space, and Spectra continued, "I distinctly remember. Your birthday was last year."

"That's the funny thing about birthdays. They're kind of an annual thing," Dani told her.

She sighed and sat back down as she continued, "Mother, I'm turning eighteen, and I wanted to ask… what I really want for this birthday… actually, what I wanted for quite a few birthdays now…"

"Okay, okay, Danielle please. Stop with the mumbling. You know how I feel about the mumbling. Blah blah blah blah. It's very annoying. I'm just teasing. You're adorable. I love you so much, darling," Spectra said to her as she walked away.

Dani, who had been playing with a strand of her hair, looked defeated, until she heard Amorpho, and looked to see him encouraging her to go on.

Dani hesitated for a second, before she blurted, "I wanna see the floating lights!"

Spectra, who had been unpacking one of the baskets she brought with her, laughed quietly and asked, "What?"

Dani changed into her ghost form and flew up to the mantelpiece, where she continued as she showed Spectra the painting of her seeing the lights, "Well, I was hoping you would take me to see the floating lights."

Spectra, after looking at the picture, said, "Oh. You mean the stars."

"That's the thing," Dani said. She threw a strand of her hair to a circular window and went on as the light coming through the window showed a painting of the stars and constellations, "I charted stars, and they're always constant. But these. They appear every year on my birthday, Mother. Only on my birthday."

Dani looked at the painting and continued, "And I can't help but feel like… they're meant for me."

Spectra looked at the painting as she walked away from the table as Dani finished, looking longingly at the painting, "I need to see them, Mother. And not just from my window, but in person. I have to know what they are."

"You want to go outside? Why Danielle," Spectra said as she walked to the window and closed it, before walking back to Dani, who was now standing on the floor and back in her human form, as Spectra began to sing…

SPECTRA

"Look at you, as fragile as a flower

Still a little sapling, just a sprout

You know why we stay up in this tower."

"I know, but-" Dani tried to interrupt, but Spectra cut in as she grabbed Dani's hair, which caused Dani to look at her weirdly.

SPECTRA

"That's right

To keep you safe and sound, dear."

Spectra walked to a window and closed the curtain, pretending to be in anguish.

SPECTRA

"Guess I always knew this day was coming

Knew that soon you'd want to leave the nest."

Spectra grabbed the end banister of the stairs and spun around to face Dani, now on the stairs.

SPECTRA

"Soon, but not yet."

"But-" Dani tried again, but was silenced.

SPECTRA

"Shh!

Trust me, pet.

Mother knows best."

Spectra bumped a beam next to her, which caused the lever to be pulled up, plunging Dani into darkness.

Dani transformed into her ghost form and created an ecto-light, but screamed when she suddenly saw the shadowy form of Spectra and stepped back, changing back into her human form.

SPECTRA

"Mother knows best

Listen to your mother

It's a scary world out there."

Suddenly, something grabbed Dani's hair and she started to pull, before she fell down and Spectra caught her, before letting her go and disappearing into the darkness, causing Dani to look at where she once was standing.

SPECTRA

"Mother knows best

One way or another

Something will go wrong, I swear!"

Suddenly, Dani saw the shadow of a scary man and she grabbed her hair, and another shadow of a plant, becoming scared.

SPECTRA

"Ruffians, thugs

Poison ivy, quicksand."

Spectra was shown throwing a rag doll in a frying pan and holding her green lantern as she made a scary face.

SPECTRA

"Cannibals and snakes

The plague."

"No!" Dani shouted.

"Yes!" Spectra shouted back.

"But-" Dani began, before she was pushed by a mop and fell onto the floor, where there was a painting of an angry man in red paint with sharp teeth, and she moved away as Spectra leaned back, her face sad, and in her hands was a paintbrush with red paint.

SPECTRA

"Also large bugs

Men with pointy teeth

And stop!

No more, you'll just upset me!"

Dani was now invisibly hiding in her hair beside her ecto-light, feeling scared now, until she felt Spectra pull her up out of her hair and Dani turned visible, only to find out it was just a mannequin and she turned to see Spectra walking down the stairs, ecto-lights on each side, before she lifted up both sides of her cloak and spun around extinguishing the etco-lights, teleporting away in shadowy mist, laughing.

SPECTRA

"Mother's right here

Mother will protect you

Darling, here's what I suggest

Skip the drama

Stay with mama

Mother knows best."

Dani started lighting candles and ecto-lights, but Spectra just extinguished them, taking great pleasure in terrifying Dani.

SPECTRA

"Mother knows best

Take it from your mumsy

On your own, you won't survive."

Dani looked at the mirror, where Spectra tilted it to face her feet, before she tripped up Dani and rolled her up in her hair.

SPECTRA

"Sloppy, underdressed

Immature, clumsy

Please, they'll eat you up alive!"

Spectra stood a dizzy Dani up, before spinning her out by using her hair, making her more dizzy and lifted up her chin. She then grabbed Dani by the cheeks and held her close.

SPECTRA

Gullible, naïve!

Positively grubby!

Ditzy and a bit… well, hmm, vague

Plus, I believe, getting kinda chubby

I'm just saying, 'cause I wuv you."

Suddenly, Spectra disappeared, and the lights disappeared, causing Dani to scream again, before she saw Spectra standing there underneath a spotlight, arms held out for Dani.

SPECTRA

"Mother understands

Mother's here to help you

All I have is one request."

Dani, relieved to see her mother, rushed into her arms and hugged her tightly, as the darkness disappeared to reveal the tower. Spectra looked at Dani and asked her, "Danielle?"

"Yes?" Dani asked back as she let go, Spectra's hands on her shoulders.

"Don't ever ask to leave this tower again," Spectra requested Dani.

Dani looked down and said, "Yes, Mother."

Spectra lifted up Dani's chin and said, "I love you very much, darling."

"I love you more," Dani said back.

"I love you most," Spectra finished, kissing the top of Dani's head, before she pulled back slightly and looked at Dani.

SPECTRA

"Don't forget it

You'll regret it

Mother knows best."

Spectra grabbed two strands of Dani's hair and and pulled them as she walked away, before letting them go, letting them fall back to a disappointed Dani.

…

Later

Spectra, who had to leave to get some stuff, left the tower by sliding down Dani's hair, only

Dani was now a lot sadder than she was before.

"Ta-ta! I'll see you in a bit, my flower!" Spectra called up.

"I'll be here," Dani muttered, before she unhooked her hair and let it fall, gazing sadly at the outside world, crushed that her mother wouldn't let her see the floating lights tomorrow.

Fun fact! The Stabbingtin Brother who speaks in Tangled is voiced by Ron Pearlman-AKA Mr. Lancer!

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GhostWriterGirl out!