Danny woke up with a jolt in the middle of the night. He frantically looked around his new, and still unusual surroundings before sighing heavily and dropping back down on his pillow. He was now wide awake.
This was certainly going to take some getting used to. It was the first night Danny (willingly) had to get himself to sleep since becoming a ghost. Vlad had told him that he shouldn't really need a terrible lot of sleep as ghosts hardly rest, and sleep was an unnecessary function for them. However, when the hybrid informed him that evening that he was going to bed, to rest his human half clearly, Danny informed him was feeling sleepy, and also wanted to go to bed. Vlad found it odd that Danny was still submitting to his humanly functions, which were no longer necessary. He wondered if Danny was in a physical state of denial, due to having his memories.
It was fairly obvious that Danny was not simply addressing his human needs out of habit; if he stopped breathing he felt his chest become tight, he wanted to eat at consistent times to avoid hunger, the boy even visited the bathroom regularly to obey his bodily signals. However as a ghost, any food consumption was completely converted into spectral energy and none was wasted, meaning this last factor was a pointless one, and did suggest Danny's mind was playing physical tricks on him. As a result of the excess energy from his food consumption, Danny now struggled to get to sleep, even though he desperately wanted to.
Now he was awake again due to being plagued by a chilling nightmare. Danny hadn't suffered from them since he was a small child, sometimes he'd listened to his father's ghost tales a little too closely and they had resulted in subconscious consequences. Now that Danny was a ghost himself, he had dreamed about being stuck in the Ghost Zone.
The random swirly green wisps had swiftly twirled around him, as though threatening to tie him up., the floating purple doors menacingly banged open and closed, and Danny's inexperience of flying or floating left him unsteady, threatening to drop him into the bottomless black and green sky. As though that wasn't intimidating enough, Danny was surrounded by countless vengeful faceless ghosts, apart the four (and a half) he had already encountered. Vlad Plasmius stood grinning evilly next to Skulker, Ember, and Walker. Even the little blue servant ghost was there, and they all looked fiendishly angry.
"You see, I told you I would deliver the Fenton's son!" Plasmius jeered.
"Now he will pay for what his foul parents did to us!" Ember snarled, clutching her trademark guitar.
Danny was then bombarded by the fleet of shrieking merciless ghosts.
Thankfully, he'd woken up before he had proceeded to imagine any more gruesome details. Or scream. He wouldn't relish having to explain the childish fear to Vlad, the half ghost was already condescending enough as it was. Not to mention he might take offence at the part where Danny had dreamed he had been the one to hand him over to ghosts, and went on to attack him.
As Danny lay in the large four poster bed, he thought about home. He wondered how his family and friends were coping. What he would give to see them for a little while, even if he couldn't necessarily interact with them. But what use would that be really? Danny felt a tear roll down the side of his face. He quickly rubbed his eyes and tried to think about something else. Danny was beginning to realise why ghosts didn't take their memories with them when they died, it makes it harder to focus on anything else and move on. Perhaps the fact that he'd held on to his was more a curse than a blessing, for all they did when he thought about them made him feel sad and guilty.
Danny was trying hard to accept his strange new circumstances, but there had been so much to take in the past couple of days. He'd put on a brave face through most of it, but he knew that it was fairly transparent. He was actually surprised that Vlad Masters hadn't yet called him on his bluff, he seemed arrogant enough to do so.
Danny was very uncertain about Vlad, he didn't know what to think of the half ghost, or where he stood with him. It seemed like he tried to be kind on one hand, but snatched it away with the other. Or vice-versa, he could say something sharp or nasty and then lightly cover it up. It was an unusual pattern. All Danny could conclude from spending the previous day with him was that he was a very controlling individual.
Danny could not yet decide if choosing to stay with Vlad had been the wisest choice. Although he knew he was safe, Danny didn't feel like he was. He was worried that Vlad Plasmius was yet to show his true colors, after all he had made it obvious that he still held a grudge against Jack and that didn't bode well with Danny. However, he found it strange that he didn't mention his mother when discussing the details of his accident. It was indeed odd but Danny knew better than to broach the sensitive topic again; making Vlad angry did not seem like a winning idea.
Cluttered thoughts concerning the half ghost continued to play around in Danny's mind until around or shortly after 6am. That's when Danny heard movement. He listened carefully, and sure enough a few moments later he heard footsteps lightly pass his slightly opened door. Danny sat up when he heard the steps fade away, it had to have been Vlad. He couldn't believe he had lay awake half the night thinking about the man! However Danny realised that he wasn't even tired, maybe as a ghost he really didn't require as much sleep as he thought. After considering it for a few minutes, Danny slipped out of the bed and decided to follow the half ghost who was also awake.
As Danny plodded down the hallway and flights of stairs, assuming that Vlad had gone to the kitchen, he wondered if perhaps Vlad would be in a better mood today. Maybe yesterday he had just been on edge about everything, especially as he had to briefly discuss his unpleasant past with Danny. The young ghost hoped that this was the case, and there was a chance that he would see a nicer, more permanent side to Vlad Masters.
Danny walked through the dining room and the kitchen, Vlad wasn't in either room. Neither was the servant ghost, much to Danny's relief. So he went into the lounge area and found Vlad sitting relaxed on a sofa chair in a satin robe, sipping a cup of tea. When he saw the teen he gave him what seemed to be a genuine smile.
"Good morning, Daniel," Vlad greeted pleasantly. "I gather you didn't sleep well?" he added smugly.
Danny's eyes widened, how could he possibly have known that? Did he have to be right about everything? Danny felt his cheeks color slightly, maybe he did cry out in his sleep after all.
"What makes you say that?" Danny asked nonchalantly.
"You're a teenager who has willingly got up at 6am." Vlad smiled, "And you're also a ghost. Ghosts do not tend to require much sleep as I told you last night, but your body seems to be under the impression that it's still human."
Danny frowned upsettingly. Why did he not feel the need to behave like a ghost? Danny slumped over and sat on the chair opposite Vlad's, resting his head thoughtfully on his hand. Vlad raised an eyebrow, it was certainly odd having company at this time of the morning!
"Vlad?" Danny mumbled, "Why don't I behave like a ghost?" He asked sadly.
Vlad took another sip of his tea, he hadn't been expecting that. Vlad wasn't normally a 'deep' person and all things emotional made him uncomfortable. Was this going to be a regular thing with the boy?
"Can't say I know, Daniel." Vlad stated, "It's possible because you don't know how to do ghostly things your body hasn't accepted the change yet. Perhaps I'll teach you a thing or two today to get you in the way of it."
Danny scowled at the answer, "More books?" He asked worriedly.
"A book can hardly show you how to fly now can it?" Vlad smirked.
"You're gonna teach me how to fly?" Danny asked, trying to mask his excitement.
"I suppose I'd better, you don't seem to have gotten the hang of it yourself." Vlad replied unkindly, "I'm yet to see you hover even a few inches off the ground."
Danny squirmed uncomfortably, it was hardly his fault he didn't know how to fly, was it? Vlad downed what was remaining of his tea, set it on the corner table, and stood up.
"We'll get started after breakfast." Vlad told him, "I normally eat after seven. Perhaps you're hungry now?"
"I can wait." Danny mumbled.
"Very well then, I'll see you in a while." Vlad commented before leaving the room to continue with his usual morning rituals.
Danny remained seated and continued to ponder after the hybrid had left. He also always seemed to be so posh and punctual as well. Was spontaneous not in his vocabulary?
"What a fruitloop…" Danny muttered to himself.
()()()
True to his word, Vlad brought Danny out to his courtyard shortly after breakfast to teach him the very basics of being a ghost: flying. Danny wasn't sure if there was a chill in the air, or if his ice core was playing him about, but he felt shivery. He hoped it wasn't actually his ghost sense and that there would be an invasion of angry ghosts any minute.
"Calm yourself, Daniel." Vlad demanded.
"Huh?" Danny mumbled. Why would Vlad ask him to be calm?
Just then Vlad transformed into his ghost half. If Danny's heart had a pulse he knew it would have quickened right now. He really didn't like the look of Vlad's ghost half at all.
"You're shivering." Plasmius stated, "That means your core is unstable. It's not cold out here, and there are no other ghosts present besides you and I. It could only mean you're worried about something and it's causing your core to act up. Think of it as anxiety symptoms for ghosts."
Danny frowned. Was everything he was going to do in the half ghost's presence going to be analysed and judged?
"Something which you need to alleviate sooner rather than later." Plasmius continued, whilst beginning to float into the air. "You see Daniel, the very basics of ghost powers require a level of control, a level of confidence. Flying, for example, can be as simple as walking if you allow it to be."
Danny watched Plasmius and bitterly thought to himself that it was easy enough for Plasmius to say this, but his first experience of flying probably wasn't shooting through the Ghost Zone at an explosive speed.
"So Daniel," Plasmius called from a few feet from above, "Do you want to fly?"
"…Yeah." Danny called back.
"So, do it." Plasmius said simply.
That was it? That was his lesson? Danny scowled angrily, what kind of useless trainer was he? A school teacher wouldn't just hand a child a book and say; 'You want to learn to read? Have at it!' What was Danny meant to do? Jump up and hope he stayed up? He stared up at Plasmius, waiting for further instruction.
"I'm waiting Daniel!" Plasmius tormented.
"I…What I'm I supposed to do?" Danny called miserably.
"Fly of course!" Plasmius sneered, folding his arms whilst he remained floating with ease.
"But I don't know how." Danny responded downheartedly. "It's not that I don't want to, I can't. You were supposed to show me how.
"Hm." Vlad mumbled.
He believed the boy had the will to embrace his inner ghost, he simply lacked confidence in his abilities. Plasmius decided that Danny needed to detach from his human limitations…and he knew just how to do this.
"Alright." Plasmius concluded, "Let's try another approach."
Plasmius swiftly swooped down and grasped Danny by the arm, pulling him up into the air with him.
"Whoa!" Danny cried in surprise, as he watched the ground become further and further away.
Danny wondered why Plasmius had decided to fly him up in the air himself, didn't he want him to get in the air on his own accord? Danny suddenly recalled a day from about a decade ago, when his dad had removed the stabilisers from his bike. 'Don't worry Danny boy, you'll be perfectly safe!' Jack Fenton had boomed, as he pushed the small wobbling child on his bike. 'You just need to find the balance is all.' He had reassured his son. Sure enough, Jack had let Danny go too soon, and the boy had ended up tipping over into a bush, bawling over a nasty cut he'd received in the process. Needless to say, it was a long time before he had attempted bike riding again.
Danny looked anxiously at Plasmius, "You're not gonna drop me to try and get me to fly, are you?" Danny asked, concerned about the hybrids intentions.
"Drop you?" Vlad repeated innocently, "Of course not dear boy, that would be cruel." But Plasmius was smiling, revealing his villainous pointed fangs. 'And predictable!' He thought.
A few seconds later Plasmius landed Danny and himself safely on a small flat surface area on the roof of the castle. Danny briefly looked around.
"What are we doing up here?" He asked.
"Oh, I thought it would help to get you used to a higher air altitude." Plasmius lied. "Daniel, you understand that because you are a ghost you cannot physically die again, correct?" He queried.
"Uh, yeah." Danny answered.
"Good. And do you know that you don't actually have any 'bones' as such right? That you are made up of eco-plasm and other spectral cells, yes?"
"I think I read something about that yesterday." Danny confirmed, "Why?"
Plasmius' grinned, with a wicked twinkle in his eye.
"Just thought you should know!" he roared as he gave Danny a hard shoved.
The boy screamed as he fell off the roof and hurdled towards the ground. Plasmius chuckled humorously to himself. In his opinion, the best case scenario would be Danny could stop himself from hitting the ground by flying. Thus seeing his ghostly capabilities more prominently. Worst case scenario he hits the ground and receives a nasty scratch, but then accepts his ghost form more openly from the lack of injury. It was a win-win situation in Vlad's eyes. Plus he got to shove the bothersome brat off the roof!
After several seconds had passed, Plasmius flew down after Danny to inspect the result. He landed safely on the ground and smiled with amusement…and success. There was Danny, floating horizontally roughly at Vlad's eye level height from the ground, with his arms folded across his face clearly bracing himself for impact.
"How high do you think the castle's roof is Daniel?" Plasmius mocked, as Danny's arms remained firmly over his eyes.
Reluctantly, Danny slowly brought his stiff arms away from his face, and wobbled unsteadily in mid-air. It was such a peculiar feeling, and he was unsure of how he even done it. All he could do was pray he didn't hit the ground, and he'd stopped falling. Once he was somewhat sure he would stay hovering and not drop the last few feet, he eyed Plasmius angrily.
"You pushed me off the roof!" Danny accused furiously.
"So my teaching methods are a little abrupt." Plasmius shrugged. "You're learning to fly aren't you? Did I not deliver as promised?"
"How was this any different from not dropping me out of the sky?" Danny demanded.
"…You didn't see this coming!" Plasmius laughed, "Oh come on, it's not like anything sinister would have happened, grow up. Now let's go, we're going to fly back up to the roof."
"What, so you can shove me off again?" Danny growled bitterly.
"Of course not!" Plasmius snapped, "…It's not funny a second time! Come."
Plasmius impatiently waited for Danny whilst he figured out how to manoeuvre his body direction and fly in that course, in this case, upwards. Eventually, the two of them were stood on the roof for the second time. Danny kept more of a distance from Plasmius, untrustingly.
"You can relax, Daniel." Plasmius said dryly, "I am not going to send you off the roof again."
"Oh yeah?" Danny replied huffily, in a disbelieving tone.
"No, I'm not. You're going to jump yourself this time." Plasmius said assertively.
Danny looked at Plasmius as though he had grown a second head. "You're kidding, right?"
"Far from it. You see Daniel, you're lacking in what every ghost needs to be skilled with their abilities: confidence about succession. Once you trust yourself, your powers will come easily." Plasmius explained.
The half ghost then took a great leap, and shot up into the sky. Danny watched him, enviously.
"Your turn!" He shouted to Danny.
Danny looked up, then he looked down. Could he really bring himself to jump when he knew the ground was that far away? He wouldn't deny it, Danny was scared to try.
"What if I fall?" Danny called out nervously to Plasmius.
Plasmius rolled his eyes, was it not obvious? "You try again." He answered dryly.
Danny comprehended that if he didn't do this the half ghost would probably be very cruel about it and shame him. Danny could understand that Plasmius may be angry and disappointed if his efforts on him turned out to be a waste. And if there was one thing Danny hated to do it was to disappoint someone, be it his parents, a friend, or even a harsh school teacher, he hated the feeling of guilt and remorse that came with disappointing someone. Now the 'someone' was a bitter half ghost who had taken Danny on as his charge. But Danny also knew he would disappoint himself if he didn't succeed. He wanted to be prosperous as a ghost to make up for his short life as a human, and achieving this required learning to fly. Albeit from a terrifying method.
"Daniel, are we doing this?" Plasmius called impatiently, "Because I have other things I could be busying my time with if you're going to waste it."
Danny gave a quick glance to where Plasmius floated above him several metres away. He inhaled a deep breathe.
"I can do this." He whispered firmly to himself.
He then bent his legs and arms, focused his eyes on Plasmius, and took a forceful jump off the roof edge and shot his arms above his head. Within a matter of seconds, the young ghost was floating breezily next to his keeper.
Danny stared down at the ground below in disbelieve. "I did it." He whispered.
He then looked excitedly at Plasmius, "I did it!" He laughed, "I can fly!"
This feeling wasn't peculiar at all, Danny decided, it was incredible!
Plasmius couldn't help but smile slightly at the boy's overjoyed reaction. It was somewhat moving to see something so simple make him this happy. Vlad too was also relieved, maybe this meant he had misjudged the boy; perhaps he would prove to be a fast learner after all. Which would certainly be a blessing from where the hybrid stood.
()()()
Maddie had rarely stopped weeping since she'd found out her little boy was gone. She would never forgive herself for leaving those three kids alone in the lab. Jazz had been right, she and Jack were to blame. But she certainly was not going to turn against her husband because of this, she wouldn't be able to get through it without him. It was him alone who convinced her eat, sleep, bathe. He had even been preparing her (basic) meals, and drew her marvellous bubble baths. Jack had never been forced to take on the primary carer role before, normally he relished in being the 'fun parent.' However he was certainly giving his new found responsibility his best shot. It was helping him to feel useful, and was keeping his mind occupied and less focused on the pain from the loss of his son. He wondered sometimes if he had been a little more serious and strict when Danny was alive, would he have left his parent's invention alone?
Now that the funeral had passed, Jack and Maddie realised that they had to focus on their future. Moving on was always the hardest part, but finding ways to do so was equally hard. The couple also had their daughter to think of, Jazz. She was obviously struggling greatly with the loss of her beloved 'little brother.' However Jack and Maddie were at a standstill with her presently, as she still refused to speak to either of them. They could only pray that she would come around soon.
The one thing that was truly haunting Maddie at the moment was the basement. The lab. The room in which her precious son had breathed his last breath. And that cold metal chamber, the portal which had so hastily wiped Danny from life, still stood. Mocking them. She would see to it personally that the portal would be destroyed, as soon as she could gather up the courage required to face it. That wasn't the only thing playing on her mind.
Jack came into the room and smiled weakly at his wife. They were alone together in their living room, Jazz was dwelling in her bedroom and rarely made an appearance. Maddie in particular currently liked being in the living room. This was where so many of her fond memories of Danny were made. In the living room he had taken his first steps, opened Christmas presents, joined in on family game nights, and even just blissfully watched T.V with his family. How could she have taken those times for granted? There were also same framed photos of Danny, which showed how he had grown from her beautiful baby into a handsome young man. She liked to look at them and remember the changes and milestones in Danny's life.
As Jack sat down next to his wife, he gently patted her leg. When she didn't give him a response, he looked to where Maddie was gazing and sighed wistfully.
"He takes a great picture doesn't he Mads?" He commented, referring to one of Danny's more recent school photographs.
"My boy." She whispered sadly, rolling her head on to Jack's shoulder.
"Our boy." He corrected softly, setting his hand on top of hers.
He had been great the past few days, truly he had. Maddie didn't know where she'd be right now without him. She decided to discuss one of her issues now with Jack, before she lost the nerve. She lifted her head and looked him in the eyes.
"Jack, there's something important I have to talk to you about." She spoke softly.
"What is it Maddie?" He asked encouragingly. It had been difficult to get his once bubbly wife to speak since Danny passed away.
"The lab Jack, the ghost hunting…" She whispered tearfully, "I'm sorry, but I can't do it anymore."
Jack stared at his wife in shock for a few seconds. Give up ghost hunting? It was all they had ever known, it was their responsibility; leave the Guys in White to protect the townspeople of Amity Park if they stepped down? Jack knew he couldn't do it without Maddie, they were a team! Ghost hunting was what had brought them together, it was what made them fall in love…
"Maddie…this is a huge decision." Jack said seriously, "Are you sure it-"
"It's what killed Danny, Jack." Maddie hissed tearfully, "It's what took our boy and it's driving Jazz away from us. She's right. If we had focused less on ghosts and more on our family our son would still be alive right now!"
Jack breathed in deeply. Maddie seemed to be adamant about this. It's not like he didn't agree with her, and he would gladly pack the whole thing in tomorrow if he knew what they would do for a living instead. After all, they were funded by the government for their service to the city.
"I hear you loud and clear Maddie. But we need to think clearly, what would we do for money if we give up the ghost hunting?" Jack said softly, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
"I don't care if I have to beg for money on the streets." Maddie answered darkly. "I will never put anyone at risk again as a result of hunting bloody ghosts. God, we should have known better. After what happened to Vlad Masters in college we should have known better!"
"Maddie don't." Jack soothed, "We can't dwell on the if's, and's, but's, or maybe's. All we can do is look forward. And you know that what happened to Vlad was an accident."
"It was a warning." Maddie said sharply, "A warning, and we ignored it. Well no more, I'm done ghost hunting Jack. If you want to continue with it, that's up to you and your conscience, but it won't be happening under my roof. As soon as I am able, I am destroying that lab and everything in it. Then I'm actually going to use my college degree and get myself a respectable job."
Jack and Maddie spent hours discussing their options and perspective's that evening. When they came to a final decision they wrote a note for the daughter and slipped it under her door, as they knew she would be still too angry and hurt to hear them out. They could only hope she'd read it before her anger drove her to tear it to shreds.
