A Shakespearean Tragedy

Chapter Three

The Ghost Writer downed the last of his second mug of coffee in one large gulp. Blinking the blurriness from his eyes, he yawned, stretching his back in the process. Mid-yawn, he caught sight of the clock and froze. One forty three in the morning. With a startled yelp, he immediately resumed his typing. The next bit of action needed to happen before sunrise and he wasn't entirely sure he had enough time…

"Danny, you have to save me!" Jazz shrieked as she ran past him. Danny twisted to see her dive into the living room before a loud thumping noise reached his ears. His eyes widened and, turning back to see who his sister was running from, he gasped. A huge, orange-clad man was running full speed towards him, two fishing rods in hand. Jack Fenton skidded to a halt just in front of his son before grabbing him in an iron grip.

"Hey, there, Danny!" he yelled happily as he squeezed the air out of his son's lungs in a big hug.

"Hi, Dad," Danny wheezed. Pointing to the fishing rods in his father's hands, he asked, "What are you doing with those?"

Jack let go of his son and grinned, baring all of his oversized teeth. "Jazz promised she'd let me teach her how to fish—and what better way than with the Fenton Ghost Fishing Rods?"

At first, Danny was terrified. He didn't want to deal with another Ghost Dragon. But then, slowly, a small, malicious grin spread across his face.

"Jazz told me she's waiting for you in there," he said, giving away his sister's location by pointing to the living room.

"Great!" Jack bellowed. "Thanks, son!" A blur of neon orange disappeared into the living room and Danny couldn't hold back a chuckle when he heard his sister's lame protests. He fell back onto the couch and phased a hand through the seat cushion to find the remote before turning on his favorite program with a contented sigh. It felt like just another average day in the Fenton household, where he was sure nothing could ever go wrong. Instead of watching the television, he watched his father drag a reluctant Jazz through the basement door.

"Don't think you're getting away with this!" he heard her yell from the basement and even though he knew the threat was directed at him, he smiled and returned his attention to the television. The program, called "Shopping with Sycophants," had just left for commercial break, so Danny began flipping through channels. He was almost about to watch Embarrassing Celebrity Arrests when the floor underneath his feet began to shake in tune with a loud buzzing sound. Cracks ran up the walls of the house and pieces of ceiling sprinkled to the ground in front of him.

"Aaah!"

Danny's eyes flew open and he jolted awake. It took him only seconds to realize that it had all just been a dream and the crushing weight of reality once again replaced happy memories of his father. He had fallen asleep on his cell phone, which was currently vibrating with a call from Valerie Gray. He quickly flipped it open and held it to his ear.

"Valerie?" he mumbled tiredly.

"I thought we were meeting on the first floor at a quarter to two!"

The urgency in her voice drew Danny out of his sleepiness. "Yeah?"

"It's one fifty," she said blandly.

"Oh," he said, wincing. "Sorry. I'll be right there."

Dressed in his striped blue pajamas, Danny let himself drop through several floors until he was at ground level. He made his way to the servant's closet at which he and Valerie had previously agreed to meet and opened the door. Valerie stood, wrapped in embarrassing pink, hearted pajamas, a glare on her face.

"That was fast."

Danny gave her a sheepish grin. "Sorry I kept you waiting. Nice PJ's."

She raised an eyebrow without comment. "Let's go."

They began their walk through the west hallway, an eerie silence settling over them both. Their feet made no sound on the thick carpet and everything but the shadows of the dim, gas lighting remained motionless.

"Is there anybody even here?" Danny finally asked.

Valerie kept her eyes on the hallway in front of them as she replied, "I don't think so. I think all the guests were given rooms upstairs."

They walked even further down the hall without a word, passing a myriad of mahogany doors with handles of gold. They inspected every nook and cranny of the hallway, Valerie's face was grim with determination, and Danny's tired and expectation-less. When they neared the end, it was Valerie whose shoulders slumped.

"What if I was just seeing things?" she muttered angrily to herself. Turning to Danny, she donned a disappointed expression. "I'm really sorry, Danny, but I could have sworn I saw something down here."

Danny only shrugged. "It's okay, Val."

"Let's just go back to sleep," the girl said, finally allowing herself to feel tired. She yawned and patted her friend on the shoulder. "Come on."

Danny started to walk back with her when a chill ran up his spine. He froze and his eyes slightly widened.

"Danny?"

He saw his friend give him a strange look and he frowned in response. "You go on ahead," he told her. "I… I'm just going to find bathroom."

Valerie shrugged without giving his words a second thought. "Okay. 'Night."

"See you in the morning, Val," Danny called after his friend who was slowly and tiredly disappearing into the shadows. He watched her until he could no longer see her pink pajamas moving with her trudging steps. Then he turned to find the source of his chill.

He jumped, biting back a cry of surprise when he found a large figure looming over him. A ghost.

The ghost didn't move; instead, it simply stared as Danny slowly backed away. The ghost was colorless and translucent, and it stared at him with two longing pale eyes. There was no doubt in Danny's mind that it was his father who stood in front of him.

"Dad?" Even to his own ears, Danny's whisper sounded very far away.

"Danny." His father's voice was just as quiet, but instead of awe, it carried a hint of pain. Jack reached out towards his son with a barely glowing see-through hand.

Danny reached out to return the gesture, but his own hand passed right through his fathers'. "What's happened to you?"

Jack's hand became hazy, as if Danny had just waved his hand through a thick fog, but it soon regained form. "Vlad," came the low, drawn out response.

Danny found himself shaking his head, even though he had known it all along. Tears welled in the corners of his eyes. "No…."

There was no answer and Danny blinked when his father began to fade from his sight.

"Wait! Don't go!" He was no longer whispering, but yelling. "You can't leave me here with—with—"

"Don't let him destroy me," were the last words Danny heard from his father before Jack completely evaporated.

"Don't go!" Danny yelled even louder, but in the back of his mind, he knew his father was not going to return, no matter how much he protested. Overwhelming anger gripped the boy's mind and he let an ecto-blast fly from his fingertips. How dare his father leave his broken family in the hands of Vlad Masters? He did not even spare a glance at the scorched hole in the striped wall paper before he screamed, "You can't leave!"

Ecto-energy worked its way into his throat and he let it loose with more, wordless yelling. The hallway swayed with the reverberations of his voice.

"Come back!"

By the time Danny had worn himself out, the hallway was no longer empty. Servants with gaslights, disturbed guests, and Vlad Masters himself stood in shock at a the unconscious figure lying in the burnt hallway which had seemingly been attacked by a ghost.

The Ghost Writer didn't even bother to check over the next chapter. He slumped over onto his keyboard and fell fast asleep. Not even the threat of Vlad Plasmius could keep him from getting a much needed nap.

A/N: Okay, now I need a nap... Sorry this chapter was so short! It was hard to start this story up again. Thanks so much for reviewing!