AN: Thanks to those who have reviewed! You guys are all so awesome! :') Hellbreaker, I agree with you that Danny was right to be suspicious of Gregor, but I also believe that Sam doesn't think so and that she was outraged when Danny accused Gregor of being a spy. You and I have the advantage of being omniscient and seeing both points of view, but I was attempting to make it sound more like it was coming from her point of view. I hope I did okay. Anyways, on with the story!
Bitter Reunions
Vlad
Being one of the richest men on the planet most definitely has it's advantages. Throughout the world, you're considered the very epitome of success, a household name in all but the furthest-reaching countries. You can live like an emperor, and you want for nothing. You can do whatever you want; go wherever you want, whenever you want to. However, as with all things, great wealth and fame come at a cost. There are things that money cannot purchase; and in my case, the one thing I can't buy, the one thing that is forever out of my near-omnipotent grasp, is a meaningful relationship.
When I sent out invitations for a college reunion to be held at my estate, I did so with the intention of luring Jack Fenton and his family to my mansion simply so that I could reconnect with his wife, Maddie. I hadn't spoken to her, or Jack, for that matter, since a few days after the accident that Jack caused-a ghost portal gone awry-when the three of us were in college. That accident gave me ghost powers and murdered my social life in one cruel twist of fate's dagger, and it left me alone to pick up the pieces.
I had been deeply in love with Maddie, and was certain she'd felt the same way at the time, so I'd been planning to talk to her before I had the accident. But, as my misfortune goes, I was hospitalized with a severe case of ecto-acne. One excruciatingly endless month later, I was allowed my leave, but no one was waiting to welcome me home. No, the first thing I witnessed when I arrived back at the university was Jack, my best friend, kissing Maddie, the love of my life.
The devastation had slowly morphed into resentment that built up and boiled during the following twenty years. It was all Jack's fault; my loneliness, my sudden lack of purpose. I was intent upon getting my vengeance and taking the woman I loved back in one move at the reunion. I'd been sending ghosts from the Ghost Zone to Amity Park for months in an attempt to gauge Jack's ghost-fighting skill level, but a few weeks ago they had stopped reporting back to me, and the few that did return told grandiose stories of a new ghost-a young boy, who was half-human, half-ghost, like myself. This piqued my interest, and I hoped to glean some information on Amity Park's latest ghostly resident at this reunion from my former classmates.
I suppose I should have seen it coming from miles away, since Jack had been the blubbering idiot who caused my accident. In fact, it should have been like a slap in the face, it was so obvious. Nevertheless, my astonishment was unquenchable upon discovering in the midst of a one-sided fight that this infamous ghost boy's human half was, indeed, Jack's son, Daniel.
My first reaction was fury. Jack's careless foolishness had now not only caused his so-called best friend's life to fall apart, it had endangered his own son's as well. But, as I thought about it, I began to realize that this might have been the opportunity I'd been so desperately wanting. Maddie might never again love me as she had when we were in college, but young Daniel had his entire life ahead of him. Besides, Jack's family should have been mine in the first place, so what better way to get revenge than to steal his own son right out from under his oblivious nose?
The fact that Daniel was a hybrid as well only benefited the situation. He was inexperienced, and still lacked control of basic powers such as flight and invisibility. I could teach him everything I'd acquired in twenty years; I could provide him a luxury that was never available to me. The more I thought upon the idea, the better it seemed. Still, I knew Daniel was rash and would not join me without a fight, so I needed a plan to win him over.
The next night's class reunion party provided the perfect setting to do just that. I sent Daniel to my lab to fetch a present for his father that didn't exist, having hired Skulker in advance to ambush the boy and ensure that he became well-acquainted with my latest invention, the specter energy neutralizer. I had hoped that after revealing my ghost half and offering to teach Daniel what I knew about being a halfa, he would accept my offer willingly and renounce his fool of a father. Instead, he only struggled harder against the invention that had zapped his ghostly abilities and mouthed off to me like a typical teenager. Irked, I left him to return to the party and exact the second stage of my revenge on Jack.
I don't know how Daniel escaped, but a few moments later he had located the party once more and began to try to sabotage my plan. We battled, the upper hand guaranteed to go to me because of my experience; but somehow it ended with Daniel overshadowing his father and putting me in a compromising position, forcing me into a surrender.
I left that fight extremely disappointed and still thirsting for revenge. Jack Fenton had won, yet again. The bitterness ate away at my insides like acid. Why could no one understand that all I wanted was someone to care for; someone who would care for me in return? As I sat alone in my private study the next night after everyone had left, I held my head in my hands. Daniel would join me eventually, no matter how much he protested. I would get my revenge and I would get what I wanted. I always did, in the end. Jack Fenton would rue the day he betrayed this half-ghost, and Daniel would regret ever saying no to Vlad Masters.