Author's Note:
Well, I'm back! Sorry for the long wait between chapters (especially since the story is just starting to heat up). Between work, ArcheAge, and art I've been pretty distracted from writing. Nonetheless, it will definitely be completed over time!
Thanks as always for the fantastic reviews, favourites, follows, etc!
***By the way! The first section of the story is told from an omniscient perspective, meaning it's all knowing! The italicized paragraphs refer to something that has happened in the past and is typically being recalled by a single character, however this one in particular won't follow just one person, but instead the feelings/thoughts of all characters involved. For the story's sake, please understand that the recollection is shared between all the characters present, including Danny (to an extent, as his past is all jumbled up in his head).***
You'll understand as you read, I hope it isn't too confusing! But that section is pretty important as it reveals a lot of information about a lot of characters~
Chapter 6: Propositions
"Mommy?" Small hands tugged lightly at the woman's pant leg, looking up at her with curious, sky blue eyes.
"Who'sat?" Danny asked as he pointed, his childish voice slurring slightly as he regarded the white-suited strangers in the doorway. Maddie glanced down at him, worry and uncertainty painted across her delicate features. Her brow was creased in thought as she looked over him, every detail of what once was her little boy. From his messy black hair to his pale alabaster skin, how his eyes sparkled with wonder... How he'd been so normal, so perfect, just two weeks prior... Danny's eyes flashed an electric green colour before reverting back to blue, his ghostly attributes acting up without his consent or realization. As if broken from a spell, Maddie's expression hardened, her hand grasping his and tugging it away from her pant leg.
Danny paused for a moment, unsure as to what he should do. Over the last number of days, his family had grown more and more distant from him. It had started with small things, like his parents no longer tucking him in at night or playing games with him. But things had certainly escalated, as they stopped calling him for meals or gracing him with conversation longer than one word answers. He felt as if his presence had faded from the household entirely and the child truly felt like the ghost his parents had accused him of becoming.
Danny peered around his mother to the towering figure of his father, who was speaking to the strange men in the doorway in a hushed tone. Every once in a while, one of the men would look down at him with an expression Danny couldn't quite place. They spoke using words that he couldn't hope to understand, and quickly lost his attention from the conversation. Jack caught Danny's wondering gaze, narrowing his eyes at the creature that wore his son's skin before not bearing to look at him any longer, a gesture the five year old didn't miss.
A tall, broad shouldered man stepped forward from the crowd of strangers, carrying himself with the air of superiority he seemed to suit so well. The man spoke with a firm, commanding tone, one that could only be obtained by giving orders for years.
"Good evening, my name is Dominik Faust. When I caught word of your findings, I couldn't help but arrange a face to face meeting with you-..." Faust looked the jumpsuit-wearing couple up and down before continuing "...You respectable, private researchers. I'm very curious to observe your claims in person. Is this your son?" Faust knelt down to Danny's level, who shied away from the intimidating stranger's gaze and began nervously playing with his fingers.
"That's not our son." Jack said sharply, Faust raising an eyebrow at the reaction. Maddie continued for her husband.
"A ghost inhabited his body two weeks ago. We believe that our son died during an accident in our lab concerning a failed artificial portal into the Ghost Zone." Faust stared long and hard at Danny, who backed up a few steps and awkwardly left the adult conversation. Opting to play with his toy trains on the carpet instead. Faust quirked a smile at the human-like behaviour the boy supposedly still imitated, assuming that the Fenton's claims held any weight.
"That's an awfully human looking ghost, my friend. I've never seen a specimen that has maintained a typical human skin tone. Or physical body, for that matter. You mentioned that this boy has been displaying ghost-like attributes?" Maddie and Jack both nodded, the light clacking noises of toy trains permeating through the stiff atmosphere of the room.
"Yes. After the portal explosion claimed our son, his body began to act similar to that of a ghost's. Invisibility, intangibility, hovering on a few occasions, and..." Maddie trailed off, her voice becoming quieter as she spoke. Jack picked up where she left off.
"Our daughter Jasmine, she was burned by him when he touched her while charged with ectoplasmic energy. She was alright, but we're certain this ghost will become more powerful and malevolent the longer it's on the living plane." Maddie wiped at her eyes, thankful her husband finished her thought for her. Faust nodded, a plastered on expression of sympathy held stiffly on his face.
"And you're certain this isn't an overshadowing event?"
"No, sir. That's what our initial thought was, but we've tried everything to separate the demonic entity from his body and they've simply been fused together."
"I'm extremely sorry for your loss, losing a child in such a way is unimaginable and I truly regret that such sorrow has befallen you and your family." Maddie's eyes sparkled with fresh tears, Jack placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"May I observe your son's recent developments first hand?" Faust inquired, taking out his clip board to record anything noteworthy. Jack turned to Danny, who looked up from his toys upon the realization that his father seemed to want him. He beckoned Danny forward, who approached the group timidly once more.
"Danny, go ghost." Jack said dryly. Danny looked at him with confusion, tilting his head slightly.
"But you and mum don't like it. You told me not to." Danny replied, shuffling his feet. Jack pushed Danny in front of him once more to face the white suited agents, who stared at him expectantly.
"Ooh come now, boy!" Faust said with a deceivingly warm smile as he knelt down."I'm just curious to see your special talents! I'd like to see you 'go ghost', as your father put it. Can you please do that for me?" Faust placed a large hand over the child's lithe shoulder, who smiled meekly as he grew slightly embarrassed.
"Well... Hmkay" Danny said, finally meeting the stranger's gaze. The agents around the doorway watched curiously, their hands brushing over their readied weapons at their side on the event that things turned violent. A flash of blue and white light engulfed the room as rings of energy passed over the small boy, leaving in their wake a white-haired, glowing entity. Faust's eyes widened slightly, though he professionally contained his surprise. The child looked nothing like the ghosts the agents or Dr. Faust had ever encountered, which were typically demonic creatures with an air of hell around them. No. This boy looked otherworldly, an entirely new species that they had never seen before, nor believed they'd ever see. This boy was coexisting on two different planes of reality, trapped between the world of the living and the dead, and belonging to neither.
"...Well, your report was certainly accurate." Faust finally broke the silence, jotting down a few notes before scanning Danny up and down once more. He pulled out a rectangular touchscreen device from his jacket, holding it up in front of the young hybrid who eyed it curiously. A moment later, the device began rapidly beeping, Dr. Faust pulling it away to check the data displayed on the screen. Faust stared at the data set, the Fenton couple waiting with bated breath for the CEO to continue.
"This... This is impossible."
"What is it?" Maddie and Jack asked simultaneously, their voices hiding little of their worry and impatience.
"The ecto-signature emitted by your son is well beyond that of a young ghost, or a ghost that has more recently joined our plane of existence. I've never encountered anything like this before." Faust lied, having connected the reading quickly to some data he had filed away in his office. Data that he had convinced himself was the product of a malfunctioning detection device. He'd worry about that later.
The Fentons glanced wordlessly at one another, Jack shaking his head. Danny looked up at them with lively, vivid green eyes, as none of the conversation was registering in the mind of the five year old. Danny took a few awkward steps back, turning slightly before deeming it safe for him to leave the conversation once more. He returned to the carpet, not bothering to change from his ghostly form. The agents continued to stared at him in awe, their gazes not leaving the white-haired boy's back. After a brief pause, Faust continued.
"This was the product of an explosion, you said? You were attempting to build a 'portal', as you put it?" Jack nodded, his more typical enthusiasm surfacing despite the nature of their conversation, excited to talk about one of his numerous inventions.
"That's right! We found some old blueprints from our college days and decided we'd try to finish it, now that we have the proper resources and that. Punched a hole right through our dimension!" Jack proclaimed loudly, swinging his arms as he spoke to emphasize his point. Faust flinched to the side slightly, avoiding Jack's range of motion.
"Amity Park has many naturally existing portals between our worlds which open and close with almost no warning. We chose to conduct our research here for that reason entirely, as we believed it would help our artificial portal function." Maddie explained more calmly, feeling comforted as the conversation strayed from her son.
"We thought for sure we had the machine configured properly this time... You see, the small proto-portal we built all those years ago malfunctioned upon activation and exploded. Thankfully it was a much smaller design and didn't really cause any lasting damages."
"HAH, unless you count ol'Vladdy! Got hit RIGHT in the face. Nasty case of ecto-acne." Jack bellowed loudly, a small smile ghosting Maddie's features as she recalled the event. Faust and his agents remained quiet, looks of concern being passed around their group.
"This... 'Vladdy', was he a classmate of yours?"
"Yeaaah, Vladimir Masters... It sort of deterred him from furthering his ghost hunting career... On the bright side, the effects cleared up in time for graduation..." Maddie trailed off, Jack immediately piping up again.
"He's fine! Haven't spoken in a good ten years, but he went on to be some famous business tycoon, or something less cool than ghosts." Faust scribbled the name down on his notepad, staring at it for a few moments as he began pondering what he once believed to be impossible.
"Interesting."
Vladimir Masters. His eyes remained locked on the displayed name, the puzzle pulling itself together, finally validating a thought he had had for so long. Five years to be exact. It was as if the name being tossed into this entire ordeal sparked a revelation in his mind, bringing the previously mismatched pieces of information together to form a rather clear image.
The energy readings taken from the thief matched those taken from the numerous properties of Mr. Vladimir Masters, the data identical if not for the precise ratio difference. As a seasoned researcher, Dr. Faust was more than aware that ghosts and other spectral entities released unique ecto-signatures, similar to the fingerprint of a living person. No two signatures were the same, this concept having inspired the method that the entire organization used to track, hunt, and archive ghosts. It was the foundation of ghost hunting technology.
Why this was significant, of course, was that it indisputably tied Masters to the incident. Not only did Masters have a motive for stealing the disc, he apparently had a means to doing so... Whether or not the culprit was Vlad himself or some ghost that worked under him for reasons god would only know was still open for debate. After all, it was the assumption that Vlad had been conspiring with a Ghost Zone operative that sparked this entire nightmare six months ago.
The data collected from Masters' residences belonged to an extremely powerful entity. The probability that Vlad himself is said entity had to be quite low, considering the man's high profile career and involvement in his local communities. The bastard was a goddamn mayor, on top of the other titles he held. How he could maintain such an elaborate human identity while potentially hiding his true demonic nature was beyond Faust. However, the possibility couldn't be ruled out... The man had suffered a similar accident to the Phantom child, and all things considered... He may be dealing with the same sort of spirit.
The thought drove a chill down Dr. Faust's spine. As if Vladimir Masters wasn't already dangerous enough.
If that was the case, he'd have to plan his next steps carefully.
Faust absently tapped his finger against the edge of his desk, staring thoughtfully at the neat piles of papers and reports as he considered his available options. He was coming close to finally being able to trip the man walking circles around him. Faust had found his leverage, he simply had to prove his suspicions and to do so, he'd need to obtain some form of solid proof. Something to keep Masters pinned under his thumb and prevent the man from seriously damaging not only his public image, but the entire Ward. But how in this world and the next would he be able to confront a foe so potentially dangerous..? As far as he was aware, Vlad had obtained something quite damning. The contents of that disc could only be protected for so long, but certainly not long enough and once it has been decrypted, Faust knew he could immediately expect a set court date.
As his eyes trailed over the papers, the corner of a blue page caught his attention. Faust carefully plucked it out from beneath the pile, revealing to him Mr. Reed's armour schematics. The sheet was a detailed map of parts needed to complete the first ever weaponized form of ghost core energy. The armour Reed had been developing alongside Faust's own researchers was genius. A breakthrough in ghost hunting technology and potentially human hunting technology...
A small smile played at his lips as he stared at the sheet, mind wandering away from Masters to a much less threatening (however infinitely more irritating) individual.
Reed may be dead, but the armour still had a means to completion, thus he had a means to confrontation~
The irritating ring of the phone echoed throughout the halls of the large house, Maddie quickly running to the kitchen and glancing at the ID displayed on the device.
"D. FAUST"
She stared at the display for a few moments, allowing the familiar name to register in her mind and as it did, her heart almost leapt into her throat.
"Jack, dear!" Maddie called, leaning herself up against the kitchen table as she awaited her husband's response. The house was uncharacteristically quiet, the usual sounds of running machinery or the clanking of metal was absent, replaced by a calmness that could only be brought about by the early morning. A few moments later, the distant thumping of shoes ascending the metal-coated stairs to the lab could be heard, the door swinging open and ramming into the wall, much to Maddie's annoyance.
"Jack, could you please be more caref-"
"What's up, Sugar Cakes?" She sighed, deciding to drop the topic of the dented wall. Jack watched her with a warm smile before making a dash to the phone, realizing that it was likely the reason she had called him.
"Hello! Jack Fenton, Fenton Works here! What can I do ya for?" The jolly man practically bellowed.
"Good morning, Mr. Fenton. I have a proposition for you."
Author's End Note:
Kinda a short, in-between action chapter as I kinda get back into things, but this lines things up for Ch. 7! Which is on it's way (and without a two month hiatus xD). Next Chapter will be lots of irritable Vlad and increasingly cocky Faust, cause their dialogue is fun to write~
P.s, I swear to god Vlad and Danny will be meeting soon, and shit will get intense when they do. This fic isn't going to be one of the ones where all the good action (father/son) happens immediately then loses it's appeal because the author has exhausted their main idea. This is gonna be a long ride with plenty of development and plot~. Hope you all enjoyed, and #7 should be out next week, as it's already started!