A.N. Once again I DO NOT OWN DANNY PHANTOM…
"…why oh why…it's not fair…" history101 cries in a corner and…anyway…heh heh…back to the story. "Hey…I am totally sane!"
What Unusual halflives we lead
Chapter 4: Trust is a Valuable Commodity
Jack and Maddie were well and truly clueless when it came to Daniel's well-being, Vlad thought. He was the only one who could understand the boy, not his parents, his sister or his friends. Sure they could sympathise, but they couldn't understand. How could they, when they weren't half ghost themselves? It's easier for human parents to understand a human son, but not one who is half dead. He frowned as he climbed the stairs and peered into the boy's room. Of course it was a complete mess.
Clothes were covering most of the floor space, there were books and charts everywhere, picking several of them up he gathered that they were maps of the constellations at different times; but he was not an expert so he left them on the bed. Daniel's school bag lay unopened at the foot of the bed, being a curious man he opened it and pulled out a battered copy of one of his favourite plays; Othello, a Fenton Thermos, several loose sheets of paper, pens, pencils and more charts of the solar system.
If he didn't know better he'd say the boy was obsessed. Ha. Of course he was, the solar system meant freedom, a freedom the boy didn't have here. He was constantly lying to his parents, living with school and a curfew that would take up most students waking lives, but he had two lives to lead and not enough time to live them. It was times like these that he found the boy both amusing, and a source of pity. Vlad didn't have this problem, he never had, he didn't view his ghost half and human half as separate, they both made him who he was. They made him Vladimir Masters, billionaire, businessman extraordinaire. Unfortunately the child didn't share his sentiments.
Daniel viewed himself as both Danny Fenton; the shy boy who was beaten up at school and had poor grades, and as Danny Phantom; the brave and powerful ghost hunter and protector of Amity Park. But they were the same person. He was, at the same time, powerful and shy, he was fearful of what his powers could do, lest he become Dan Phantom. Yes Vlad was well aware of this alternate timeline. He has been informed by his allies within the Observants. Initially it had surprised him to learn that not all of the cloaked Cyclops creatures were pretentious, pompous idiots, some were merely intelligent spirits…with an unfortunate job description. And then most of the others were indeed complete idiots with unfortunate job descriptions.
From above he could sense Daniel's ecto-signature, even when the child was in human form, however weak, Vlad was always able to locate him, he supposed one day Daniel would be able to do the same to him when he was strong enough. Vlad phased through the roof without morphing and landed noiselessly behind him.
"Go away, Vlad…I'm not in the mood to fight," Daniel said without turning around, and Vlad raised an elegant eyebrow as he walked over to the boy. He was sat on the very edge of the building, hunched over with his legs hanging off and his hands clutching the ledge. The older hybrid sat beside him and observed the boy as best he could without drawing Daniel's attention to the fact. All of his earlier anger and frustration had disappeared leaving behind the tired shell of a young boy who yearned for freedom, but was forced to settle for a trivial telescope on his roof, and numerous flights as a ghost around his city.
"Don't you even want to ask me what I'm doing here?" Vlad goaded, and hoped the boy would take the bait.
"Why bother, you won't tell me anyway…" came Danny's uninterested reply. And Vlad could sense no hint of a lie or falsehood in his features or body language. The boy was truly the most irritating and irksome person he had ever met in his entire life. Where was the sarcasm, the obstinacy, the…did he miss the boys…wit…No, not possible!
"Not even if it involves your family; your beautiful mother…your stupid oaf of a father…your…AHH" he yelled as a green ecto-blast shot from the boy's outstretched right palm. Vlad landed several metres away and hit one of the metal stands of the Ops-centre that was grounded on the roof of the building. At least it was a form of reaction, Vlad sighed as he pulled himself up. Daniel's hand resumed its former place on the edge of the building and his now green gaze moved from Vlad and back towards the darkening city.
"You deserved that," Danny said before Vlad could insult him, and he heard the man stand up and crack his neck.
"Hmm," Vlad muttered in silent agreement, he did rather ask for it, but it was the only way he could think of to get the child to listen to anything he said.
Danny was surprised when Vlad did nothing other than stand up and brush the dust from his crisp, black business suit like nothing had happened, why didn't he fight back like he always did? Vlad was always saying things about his parents, then Danny fought him and Vlad fought Danny. That was how things always went, why was he breaking their little game? Was it even a game? There had been times when he was sureVlad hated him with every fibre of his being, and Danny had also hated Vlad. He knew Vlad was responsible for their initial rivalry; he had started the whole thing. He tried to kill Danny's dad for Christ's sake, what son wouldn't hate the man who attempted to humiliate and / or murder their father. His dad wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed but he was a good man, a good dad…a good friend even though Vlad didn't deserve one.
"I'm not…a very good son…am I?" Danny whispered, partially forgetting that Vlad was there with him, "…I'm a really bad liar too…so why haven't they figured it out yet?" he had no idea why he had just said that. It was a something that had been plaguing his mind for months now. But why say it at all to Vlad, of all people, why not his sister, Sam or Tucker, why Vlad? It didn't make any sense, it was annoying and confusing and he was not a happy camper!
Vlad stared down at the boy in shock. What was Daniel thinking? Voicing his thoughts to the man who they had both proclaimed to be his arch-nemesis…It was inexplicable. It was a sign of weakness. It was… endearing? He crouched down and sat beside the boy again. "You can hardly expect me to answer that, dear boy," he said with his usual sarcasm, but he watched closely for Daniel's reaction. The boy instantly deflated with a heavy sigh and turned to look at the man beside him. For all Vlad's uncharacteristic concern the man had come here with a somewhat selfish purpose, but the look that Daniel gave him pushed it to the back of his mind.
His expression belonged on the face of an old man who had seen every bad thing the world had to offer, it was the face of a soldier defeated in the course of battle and waiting to die, not of an almost 16 year old child with a hero complex. Perhaps the years of constant lies had caught up with him; perhaps it was because of his constant ghost fights and arguments with his parents. On either account he didn't comprehend their importance. He'd never had those problems; he didn't care about lying to people…anymore, he had left and was living on campus by the time had got his powers and never visited his parents since.
He had no one to argue with that was close to him because there was no one close to him to argue with, it was both a blessing and a curse. The child presumed he chose his solitude and in some respects he had, but it wore a man down over time, he supposed that was why he wanted a son so badly. Why he had attempted to clone the child before him and tried countless times to get Daniel to join him. But he was too old to change his ways now, it was too late, he was too far gone to change his outlook on life.
If only the two half ghosts were aware of how much they were alike, maybe things could be different, but unfortunately their obstinacy prevented anything of the sort. It is remarkable how meaningful moments can take up only a small part of our lives; a moment of peace between enemies for instance. They were the only two half-ghosts in the world, and yet their hatred for one another ran deep, but like beauty it was only skin deep and it relies on outward opinion. And fate has a funny way of changing things.
"Perhaps…given the circumstances…it would be best for you to…" Vlad stopped quietly, unsure of what he would tell the boy and why he should even bother.
"What…tell them…and say what…oh, oh sorry guys I've been lying to you for about 2 years, I'm part ghost and you've been trying to rip me apart every time you see me'" Danny huffed, "…'Hey, here's an idea, why don't you team up with your old college buddy and have a good old spot of Danny hunting'," he continued. "…'Hey, Jack lets dissect the ghost. No let's rip it apart and vaporise it for target practice'…" he mimicked his parent's voices.
"Don't be flippant, Daniel," Vlad reproached him, inwardly smiling at Danny's little rant, how could he not, it was hilarious.
"Why the hell am I even talking to you, you'd just help 'em anyway then you'd kill them for fun? Oh right you wouldn't kill my mom cuz you have a crush on her, which is still, by the way, really creepy…"
"Daniel…" Vlad sighed in annoyance, his amusement fading slightly.
"…so you'd just kill my dad, after you've all vaporised me or whatever, and marry my mom, and…whatever…Don't think so V-man…I'd rather…"
"Daniel…"
"…wait for Skulker, and Technus, and Walker and everyone else to beat the crap of me first, so if you want piece of me you better wait in line like a good little villain, and…"
"Why do I even…" Vlad muttered, and tried to tune out the boys little rant, hoping he would finish soon; otherwise he really would beat the crap out of him.
"…It's about as likely to happen as Box Lunch, which is still definitely, an; 'Eww' moment, so don't get any ideas about…" Danny paused, realising that Vlad didn't need to get any ideas because he'd just given him one, and most likely to him it was very appealing, so he face-palmed, and not for the first time muttered; "…man, this is so screwed up…" And as if realising fully for the first time he added, "What the hell are you doing here anyway?"
Vlad internally face-palmed, as the teenagers called it, and stared away from Daniel, a while ago he'd been trying to provoke such a reaction, now he was seriously questioning his sanity. Wasn't it better to have a depressed quiet Danny, rather than a confused loud one? Daniel was right, this was seriously screwed up. What had he been thinking of coming up here in the first place? To look for Daniel and, what cheer him up? What did he care of the child's emotional state, it was neither helpful nor necessary to his dilemma right now. And that was no laughing matter, it was serious, and here he was wasting valuable time attempting to talk sense to an emotionally unstable adolescent who hated and distrusted him.
Though perhaps if he could change that they might survive this after all, maybe they didn't have to live with a sword of Damocles threatening them, he certainly wasn't keen on the idea. And he was sure Daniel wouldn't be either. If he could act like nothing was bothering him and walk around like he still owned the place while inside he was scared shitless what would a Daniel do? He was well aware that Daniel had faced things that no child should ever have to deal with, but what would he do if he knew the truth? How long before he found out? True, the child was no idiot however much he called him one, but he still had much to learn.
"I know…I know, you don't care anyway, and you're not going to tell me anything, you came up here 'cuz you're bored and you wanted to beat the crap out of me. Am I right?" Daniel's dry voice broke him out of his solitary reverie as he morphed into his ghost half ready to dish out whatever crap was bound to come his way.
"No," Vlad replied with a hint of humour, "would you believe me if I said I came here to relive the glory days with your parents?" Danny just looked at him sardonically, "I thought not," Vlad added with an exaggerated sigh, "I'm devastated, Daniel, you don't trust me at all, do you?"
Danny just sat there staring at Vlad, he hadn't morphed or given any indication of why he was on the roof with him, let alone that he was in fact planning on beating the shit of him. But he had learned not to set too store much by appearances so re remained on high alert in ghost form.
"So…you didn't come here to beat me up? Who are you and what have you done with the real Vlad…not that I care, this is much nicer…" Danny replied.
"I'm afraid that the 'real Vlad' is preoccupied with more important things than beating you up, Daniel. I have other things in life to worry about and my day is not planned around testing my powers on you."
"You should teach Dash a thing or two…" Danny muttered.
"I shouldn't be so dismissive, dear boy, this affects you too,"
"What does…oh great, what've you done now, Plasmius, ticked off another Ghost King, maybe there's a Ghost Queen somewhere and you stole her magic tiara or…something…" he dismissed with a wave of his gloved hand.
"Why would I steal a tiara? Give me some credit Daniel, I steal things that are of some worth or of use to me."
"Like the Ghost Kings ring…or my parent's equipment…or…"
"Yes, yes…whatever…the point is I need you to tell me…"
"…hey even me…you kidnapped me too…that's kind of stealing… or, oh the Infi-map you stole that…" Danny remembered with a smile, that map was clever; it hadn't liked Vlad very much at the end of their little adventure. "Wow…Vladdie, you got a history of…"
"Daniel…quit acting so childish and listen for ONE minute!"
"Dude, seriously you need to ch…"
"DO NOT TELL ME TO 'CHILL OUT,' put your fowl puns aside for the moment, and listen to me,"
"Hey, don't…" Danny began, preparing to defend his witty banter to the last, but the furious look on Vlad's face convinced him otherwise. The man's eyes were glowing red and his fists were clenched tightly, he looked angry yes, but there was something else…desperation maybe…from Vlad…awkward much? "…right listening…err…that means you have to say something, V-man…"
Vlad sighed and was almost ready to give up and just fly away; he had always been well able to look after himself and his own interests. Unfortunately this time it was different, if that…thing…got to Daniel before he did…the results would be catastrophic; not only for the boy, but for him as well. "Hypothetically, Daniel…that means in theory…" he smiled down at the boy with a condescending smile,
"I know what it means, cheese-head…" Danny growled.
"Yes, you do now…anyway…hypothetically…what would you do if…for some unknown reason…because of what you are…you acted as a beacon for something that was looking for power and…"
"…what…are you asking me for…advice?"
"OF COURSE NOT!" Vlad shouted, "Do I look stupid?" Danny instantly opened his mouth to answer but Vlad held up his hand, "Do not answer that RHETORICAL question unless you have a VERY, VERY good answer."
"…err…err…no, sir?" Danny smiled sheepishly.
"Good answer," Vlad said approvingly and continued, "Now, a difficulty has arisen recently, and unfortunately it requires your…"
"…assistance…" Danny suggested.
"Not quite, Little Badger…more like your…attention…"
"Still can't admit that you're probably knee-deep in shit and you need my help, face it fruit-loop, I'm amazing, you're not and it's not gonna change." he sniggered.
"Must we always resort to name calling," Vlad breathed.
"You started it; I'm not the mascot of the Packers Vlad, stop calling me one," (*1)
"Not likely, now, back to business; this difficulty involves the both of us…have any of the ghosts been attacking you specifically more so than usual? Or acting even the slightest bit strange around you lately?"
"All of them attack me all of the time and the ghosts I know are about as weird as they come, what kind of a question was that?"
"Daniel…think about it, just for one moment imagine you have an intelligent mind that can think…"
"Hey…" Danny cried, "I do totally have a mind, and for your information I am totally smart, don't blame me, it's the ghosts fault that I have bad grades anyway not mine and I…" he broke off and remembered his frequent late fight with one ghost in particular, who had suddenly stopped mentioning the importance of his 'pelt'…Eww still gross. "Maybe Skulker okay…but that dude's always had a few screws loose…kinda like you…"
"What about him?" Vlad asked, his voice hurried and demanded as he noted the coincidence, there was still a remote possibility that it was only that. A coincidence, right?
"Well, he keeps showing up every morning at 1 so I…"
"For how long?"
"…about…2…or 3 weeks…"
"What about his behaviour?"
"What's with the inquisition?"
"Daniel…"
"Fine…he doesn't act like he used to…we don't shout at each other…y'know my famous witty banter…and he doesn't seem all that interested in my 'pelt' anymore, not that I'm complaining…but…err…Vlad…why are you even asking me all this…it not like it's weird…maybe he just had a personality change or something. Maybe he's having girl troubles with Ember, I mean it can't be easy dating a ghost frog in a metal suit and…"
"I doubt it…I've not heard from him in 3 weeks…"
"Huh…that's weird, aren't you like buddies or something…"
"Allies, Daniel, allies, not friends. But about a week ago he was supposed to discover the location of…an important artefact and bring it to me…"
"…hmm…burglary between ghostly friends now, nice past-time…nice way to build camaraderie…" Danny smiled, but Vlad ignored him.
"…and he never showed…"
"…story-time…" Danny mumbled leaning back and lying on the cold surface of the roof, still in ghost form.
Vlad sighed, "In the last week the Ghost Zone has experienced a dramatic change, Daniel, haven't you noticed anything at all that seemed strange to you, you must feel drawn to it as I do…it is a part of who you are. We both share an affinity with it, though perhaps you ignore it far more than I do."
"What'd you…" he was about to ask what Vlad meant by 'an affinity with the Ghost Zone' but he already knew. It was an amazing place, having been to space he could compare the two easily; they both offered an unlimited freedom. Huge expanses of empty space that went on forever, both were beautiful and fascinating and he loved both places greatly.
The Ghost Zone though wasn't something he wanted to be attached to. It meant admitting that he was half-ghost…half dead…not something that he was keen on doing. Every time he went into the portal his body practically glowed with…happiness…was perhaps the best word to describe it. What freaked him out was, that it happened whether he was in ghost form or human form; not good. It felt like coming home after a long day of being stuck in a small room with only Dash for company, with no questions or dangerous inventions to zap him as he slept. And the annoying thing was he had felt something strange when he was last there, yesterday, actually, the air was thicker and dense, it felt…claustrophobic almost.
"Shut up, fruit-loop," Danny muttered, cursing that Vlad was right.
"I believe the real Skulker is trapped deep within the Ghost Zone, most likely along with several other ghosts, hence the reason for your recent ghost free days…aside from the fake Skulker…"
"How do you know I've been having ghost free…never-mind…go on, carry on Vladdie…"
"…hmm…as I was saying…perhaps it would be best, in the interests of your family…"
"You mean my mom…"
"…if you left Amity Park for the time being…" he wasn't about to suggest that Danny come with him, at least not yet.
"Yeah, sure…then you swoop in and rescue my mom from the attack of the evil 'Wisconsin ghost' and ditch my dad…"
"Now there's an idea…you're really quite evil when you want to be, Daniel," Vlad sneered evilly at the boy.
"Keep dreaming, fruit-loop, you're gonna have to do better than that to scare the bejesus outta me," Danny finished.
"I'll keep that in mind when for when I am actually trying to scare you, however, if you'd care to notice I have done nothing of the sort."
"Huh?"
"Daniel, I have had my ghost powers long enough to know when something is not right…call it intuition…a sixth sense…whatever, the point is something attacked me, me, before it went after you and it will…"
"…maybe it likes you," Danny smiled, but Vlad just clipped him upside the back of his head.
"Be serious child," he cut across the clear reproach Danny was about to make, "you know as well as I, that it would be much more entertaining for me to beat you up and be on my way. Nonetheless circumstances are different. Think: why would something send something to impersonate Skulker to attack you, if not to permanently incapacitate you?"
"Err…to…test me…so the Skulker I've been fighting almost every night isn't the real Skulker, you haven't heard from the real Skulker in a month, and something has said Skulker locked up somewhere…wow…aside from the irony of The Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter being locked up I've never said Skulker's name so many times in one sentence." Danny smiled, "…wait, I'm not saying I believe you…" he held up his hands and shook them in front of Vlad.
"It is only recently that I've recovered enough to come here, if it was to get its hands on my half ghost-half human energy, or yours for that matter, the results would be catastrophic…" Vlad continued, ignoring Danny's little rant.
"…wait…recovered, as in seriously injured and recovered…this…whatever it was beat the crap outta you…oh man this thing is my new best friend…I like him already…" Danny laughed. "You ever stopped to think that this might have come at a really bad time for me…I have a lot of homework to do, and a death…I mean a basketball rematch on Wednesday and if I don't show I'll be socially mortified for life…more so than usually…and I was gonna…y'know fly over to the Space Centre and take a look around…helping you with some shit-scary monster wasn't on my to-do list…"
"Daniel," Vlad sighed, "…fine, have it your way, when you see that I am telling the truth let me know, I have more important things to worry about right now." The man stood and walked away from Danny, leaving the boy staring at Vlad's retreating back in confusion and astonishment.
Surprising himself, Vlad used the door, (Like a regular person! Shocker!) and descended the stairs that lead into the house from the roof. "Apologies, Maddie, Jack, must dash…business, you know…very pressing business matters to deal with…" he said as he re-entered the sitting room. His speech was broken from his all but shattered nerves as he pulled on his black overcoat that was hung beside the front door.
"So soon, V-man?" Jack moaned, but Vlad wasn't in the mood to toy with the man, surprising even himself, he answered without sarcasm.
"Yes, Jack you know how it is…"
"Ah…shucks Vlad…maybe you can stay for longer next time…" the orange jump suit wearing man continued.
"How was Danny?" Maddie asked.
"…what…oh well…you know what teenagers are like these days…he'll be fine, I'm sure…nothing to worry about…well until next time, Maddie," he abruptly left the house and signalled to his limousine driver. The car was waiting at the end of the street tucked away in an alley to avoid attention, not that people ever failed to notice a limo in an alley anyway. But that's Vlad for ya'. The shiny black car pulled up beside the house, Vlad promptly entered and shut the door on the world behind it. Everything here was red, rich and velveteen, no complicated outside world or 'shit-scary monsters' trying to tear him limb from limb.
"Where to, sir?" his driver asked from up front. The man's appearance was innocently human, he had pale skin and thick black hair that was cut unusually short at the back and long at the front, but he carried it off well. His pale features and grey eyes were enhanced by his black uniform and cap, you would never guess he was a ghost in disguise. (*2)
"Home, Byron, home," Vlad repeated, rubbing his aching shoulder, his back now ached as well since Daniel had decided to introduce it to the Fenton Ops-Centre; like he needed anymore injuries to deal with right now.
His ghostly driver, (pun intended) nodded, turned to the road and it was full speed ahead, location; Mayors Manor on the outskirts of the city. Vlad gazed out of the darkened window to see Daniel floating above Fenton Works staring directly at him as his limo picked up speed driving along the empty road. Then he turned away and everything faded into oblivion.
A.N. So what say you? Hopefully it was in character. I know I had Vlad give an exposition...but he does it so well ;) I also didn't think Vlad and Danny would be ready to fight just yet. Don't worry they will, they have to.
(*1) I read somewhere that Vlad calls Danny 'Little Badger' because his of precious Green Bay Packers fixation, correct me if I'm wrong.
(*2) Just can't imagine Vlad employing human staff; he would want the crème de la crème and ghosts seem more capable than humans since they don't need sleep, or food or…y'know. Also, I can't see him telling any humans that's he's half ghost and it would be awkward to write a story without some staff since Vladdie doesn't have enough people round him. He would also be able to win respect easily, cuz he can be shit scary!
