Danny was really worried, because his dad seemed happy today. But...maybe too happy? Was that even a thing?
The teen actually couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his father walk around with what seemed to be an almost permanent half-grin on his face, and Vlad had been so cheery and upbeat at their usual breakfast together that Danny had been waiting for another shoe of some variety to drop for the entire morning, his stomach filled with agitated butterflies and his mind on full alert as he returned to his bedroom in the family mansion. Had his dad found out about Sam and Tuck? But if he had, then why was he being so weirdly nice? I mean I'm not complaining and it's kinda awesome to see him relax for once, but man, who spiked his coffee with pep pills this morning?
Danny let out a breath and relaxed as soon as he entered his richly appointed and perfectly decorated Victorian-style bedroom, glancing around before settling in at his computer. He wasn't exactly thrilled with the decor, but he had to admit that the reds and creams the decorator had chosen did look pretty nice with the antique furniture. Maybe I should take advantage of this and talk to him about Sam and Tucker, or even try and arrange another trip out to Amity Park while he's in such a good mood, too. Tucker and Sam were a secret that Danny had been waiting to broach at the right time, and this seemed like a fortuitous moment while his father was in such oddly high spirits. Danny pulled out his cellphone and decided to consult them via their ongoing group text.
Hey, guys. Dad's in a super good mood, so I'm thinking about letting him know about you both, maybe even begging for another trip out there. Wanted to run it by you first, though.
Tucker replied after a couple of minutes. If you think you should, totally. Just don't want ya getting perma-grounded or something if he takes it the wrong way.
Agreed, chipped in Sam shortly after. Tuck and I'd REALLY rather not wind up having to research you, know what I mean? But if it feels right, go for it. We're kinda busy right now, so we'll catch up on texts later.
Danny suppressed a snicker, then groaned aloud at Sam's usual dark-tinted humor. Yeah, I've kinda been waiting as you both know, and it seems like it's finally a good time. Wish me luck? He then began to make the trek across the mansion towards his dad's office, hoping that the conversation would at least go alright before he heard what sounded like large stones grinding against each other in the library, as if someone was loudly rubbing cinder blocks together. Huh? What the heck was that? Danny backtracked and poked his head into the large library, glancing around and not seeing anything amiss at first until he noticed that one of the large football statues above the fireplace was slightly ajar, tilted forward like it was about to fall. "Dad? You in here?"
Deciding to investigate further, he entered the library fully and going to straighten out the loose statue before realizing it looked...like the statue was actually a lever of some kind instead. What the? Danny decided to pull down on it, the statue fully snapping back into place as the fireplace grate groaned, vanishing into the ground as a set of stairs slid into place where the grate had been earlier. "Whoa," he whispered under his breath at the sight before puzzlement got the best of the raven-haired teen and he decided to see what exactly was down this weird, hidden set of steps.
All according to my little plan. That's right, go on, thought a hidden specter watching Danny's progress with a sly, self-satisfied smirk as they hovered invisibly towards the library's ceiling. You're almost there.
Danny wandered down the stairs, expecting a few different things, but absolutely not what he was actually seeing. The first thing that leapt to his mind was 'mad scientist's lab' as he took in the tables of beakers, some still half-filled with colored liquids, of all shapes and sizes and the fact that the secreted room seemed to be entirely encased in steel. Even all of the tables were stainless along with the walls, and tons of various levers and switches were arranged on what looked like consoles or control panels in a half-circle that drew Danny's eye to what seemed to be the room's focal point- a massive, diamond-shaped door of some kind on the far wall, the entire room also bathed in a strange purple light.
OK, Dad, what the heck is all this stuff, and why is this all buried and hidden like it is? And what in the world is this door, some kind of bomb shelter? Danny noticed what looked like quite a few tubes and wires leading into the top of the door, some of those also looking connected to a few of the levers, buttons and switches that he'd noticed in the room. As if in invitation, the massive door suddenly slid open with a loud hiss, revealing what looked like a black metal tunnel behind it that led into nothingness. The curious cat nestled in Danny's mind heroically offered to sacrifice one of its lives in pursuit of understanding, Danny slowly wandering into the strange metallic tunnel and wondering how he could work in this strange, hidden room into a conversation with his father before lights suddenly flashed around him and his world filled with searing pain before he blacked out.
A green hand attached to a bejeweled wrist released the portal's activation button, the hand's owner smirking in victory before they encased Danny in a bright pink bubble. They then dragged him out of the tunnel before activating the portal again, then bringing the unconscious Danny through the portal to the Ghost Zone .
"I'm kinda gettin' worried, Tuck. It's been a while since D-um...he said he was going to talk to you know who," muttered Sam under her breath with a frown as she studied her all-too-quiet cellphone while they tried to help Jazz, Maddie and Jack find anything suspicious or strange at the Black Bear. Tucker nodded grimly as they started inspecting a large-half-burned counter that still had a warped, old-fashioned cash register on it.
"Yeah, hope everything's good, but maybe he's just talking to him still," shrugged Tucker as he picked up and blew off what looked like a really old inventory book. They'd agreed to try and avoid even mentioning Danny's name out loud in deference to his request to keep his existence a secret. "Not finding anything interesting so far, though."
"Tuck, can you please quit breathing on my neck while you're looking over my shoulder to see stuff? It's a perfect mix of really creepy and super annoying." Sam loosely waved her hand behind her head in an irritated gesture before Tucker replied...from across the room.
"Uh, got some news for ya," replied Tucker as he blinked at his friend.
"OK, if that's not you, and Jack, Maddie and Jazz are all outside scanning and taking pictures...then..." Sam's eyes slowly widened as she felt, yep, what was definitely warm breath washing across the back of her neck now and again as if someone- or something, she realized with a now rising panic, was only a few inches behind her and studying her. She leapt towards Tucker with a yell as a massive black bear suddenly appeared almost right where she'd been standing. No, wait, Sam realized even through her alarm, that wasn't a bear...bears didn't have shoulders that wide- or brightly glowing green eyes and equally electric green inner ears. Its face shape was all wrong, too, much more canine than ursine, and it was wearing tattered, dirty clothing. The ghostly...whatever it was then slashed the air by it with a wicked set of bright green claws that seemed to materialize out of nowhere, some kind of strange, bright blue energy appearing as if the ghost's claws had torn holes in reality itself before the large ghost leapt into the energy and vanished.
"W-was that a bear? A ghost bear?" Tucker finally muttered, still staring at the empty space.
Sam was still trying to process what had just happened, blinking in astonishment. "Actually, it looked like...a ghost werewolf."
"Did someone say ghost?! Are you kids alright?!" Maddy, Jazz and Jack all came barreling towards where they'd heard Sam yell.
"Yeah. I think Tuck and I just got to see firsthand how this place came to be called the Black Bear General Store, though." Sam shuddered a bit as Jazz offered her her jacket, huddling into her friend's coat and suddenly feeling incredibly chilly in spite of the bright spring day. "But that was no bear."
Back at Fenton Works, Ember was trying desperately to figure out what was wrong with the portal before Box and Writer phased through the floor, much to her relief, because she didn't want Ghostwriter knowing that they were in the Fenton Works basement. "Thanks for agreeing to come, Writer. It's kinda super important that we get this fixed before my friend and her family gets back here and sees this."
"Well I didn't exactly agree, per se, but I'm here," replied Ghostwriter dryly as he studied the artificial portal after cleaning his glasses and putting them on. "Hmm, another of these eh? I thought the only two close to us were Plasmius's and theirs." His eyebrow rose as he flitted around the front of the dormant artificial portal. "Looks like it's simply shut off, frankly, though of course I have no direct experience with such a device. What exactly did you do it? Or rather, to be precise and accurate, what did Box do to it?"
Whew. Greatly relieved that Writer was more interested in trying to fix the portal than trying to determine whose it was for the time being, Ember nodded. "Well, we came through it like we usually do, but Box tripped and I think hit the shutoff button before the thing was ready or something. It suddenly threw out a lot of smoke, sparked a bit then just kinda...turned off."
Ghostwriter's eyes narrowed, his tone steadily filling with annoyance as he spoke. "Wait...like you usually do? So you use this portal frequently and know how it works? Then why did you drag me here to try and help fix it?"
Hastily hiding a Fenton Works- branded pen laying on a table by stuffing it under some random papers, Ember offered the other ghost a nervous smile along with Box. "Uh, because you can magic us up a fix with your awesome keyboard, right? Please?"
Ghostwriter shook his head. "I'm afraid not, even if I were suitably convinced to. Desiree...borrowed my keyboard without my permission a week or two ago, and now it's not working properly. As I explained to Box before he decided to drag me here." He sighed. "I've been intending to perhaps have Technus look at it, but he tends to want some...strange things in return, such as batteries. An annoying amount of batteries, so I've been putting it off."
There was the sound of a door opening upstairs before running footsteps could be heard heading down the stairs, Ember quickly going invisible, grabbing Box and hiding under a table while Ghostwriter jetted into a closed floor-length cabinet.
"It's OK guys," Jazz called out before Ember, then Box made their appearances by materializing in midair, Sam and Tucker's jaws hitting the floor. "Ember, Box, these are my new friends Sam and Tucker. Tucker and Sam, meet my best friend Ember and my friend Box." Jazz then grinned and pointed a thumb at the stairway. "And now that we have introductions out of the way, let's block up the stairs a bit so we don't get interrupted while we work on fixing the portal. We can try and get some questions asked and answered while we're at it."
Ember smiled and waved before floating over to the cabinet and poking it. "Wanna give us a hand, Writer? It's cool to come out."
A sigh was followed by Ghostwriter also shimmering into existence after emerging from the cabinet, the writer crossing his arms and harrumphing before he started picking up odds and ends to block the door with along with the others.
Wulf glided through the Ghost Zone after his escape from the humans, trying to find another portal back out that would give him some distance before he noticed Desiree flying along with a satisfied smirk and what looked like a sleeping or otherwise indisposed black-haired human boy in a grey three-piece suit being dragged behind her in a magical bubble. "Ĉi tio nur povas esti malbona," he quietly mumbled before deciding to see what the woman was up to this time, steering himself in that general direction while going invisible. He'd never much liked the wish-granter from their first meeting, with her constant dark smell of deception and lust for power.
He followed her until she paused in front of an unfamiliar, artificial Ghost Portal and pulled the boy through it. Wulf followed and took care to stay invisible as they arrived in what looked like some kind of building specially created to house said artificial portal, Wulf taking note of the still strong odor of damp, upturned earth filling the strange, vault-like steel room. Desiree gently placed the bubble down on the ground before taking off up through the roof, still wearing that knowing grin.
Whatever was going on, the boy absolutely wasn't safe with the conniving genie-ghost, or probably even in this building considering that Desiree had taken the human to this place, Wulf knew that much, so he decided to do something about it while the young human was out of Desiree's clutches. The werewolf-like ghost jetted forward and tore Desiree's bubble apart with his claws before retracting them and gently lifting the boy onto his back, taking off in the other direction with him as the boy's strange scent, a perfect mix of ghost and human, filled Wulf's nose before they phased through the wall to the outside. As he took in the perfumes of the area, Wulf realized that they were actually fairly close to the burned-out building he usually hid while in the human world, something that could be very advantageous as he knew the territory well in that case.
For now, it was time to run and hide. He could attempt to explain things to the boy later, despite the likely language barrier.
Ten minutes later, Vlad Plasmius followed Desiree down into the newly constructed building that he'd paid so much for to get finished by this coming Saturday, very upset that Desiree had taken Daniel's transformation into her own hands after he'd had such a careful plan along with an already woven and well practiced tale about ghost powers running in the family and Daniel's mother being kidnapped by ghosts and Vlad wanting to protect Daniel by trying to hide his family's true nature from him. If Daniel had indeed successfully become a halfa thanks to the portal being turned on by Desiree while he was in it, there was no telling how Daniel would look as a ghost, and that was just one reason among many that Vlad was agitated right now- he had planned to infuse Daniel with his own extracted ghostly DNA so that they would resemble father and son.
"So I believe I've saved you a lot of time and trouble, Plasmius," began Desiree coyly. "Daniel just so happened to stumble into your little lab downstairs in your mansion earlier and it just seemed like too good of a chance to pass up." She didn't, of course, feel the need to mention that she'd deliberately activated the stairway while Daniel had been walking by and also left the trophy not quite seated in hopes that the boy would find the lab. He'll have to give me the Skeleton Key now.
"Well I had a plan in place that was going to be executed next week to turn him into a halfa, so frankly right now I very much don't appreciate you jumping the gun like this," Vlad half-growled as he started to look around for Daniel. "You absolutely should have come to me first before making this decision." Vlad's eyes narrowed as he glared at Desiree. "Also, I have my suspicions that you engineered this whole thing to begin with, and we will be discussing it later. I'm well aware that you want to borrow the Skeleton Key rather badly, but this was far out of the bounds of our little mutual agreement." He then frowned and quickly surveyed the room fully. "Where is he? You said you left him here."
For the first time Desiree seemed a bit off-balance, glancing around as a bit of panic filled her tone as she, too, searched the room. "I did! You said you were going to do the procedure here, so I figured it would be the best place for him to wake up at." The genie frantically flew a circuit. "He was out cold, and I phased him in here so there's no way he could have gotten out."
"Desiree."
She turned her head upwards, actually fearful as Plasmius' tone and face filled with deadly malice.
"You have somehow managed to lose my son after taking it upon yourself to accelerate one of my plans. And you are going to find him. Immediately. Am I very clear?"