I guess I have worded a term here different. I've read a lot of DP fanfics and they call that certain word 'obsession', while I prefer to call them 'unfinished purpose' or 'goal', sometimes even 'dream', but the point is basically the same u v u
By the way, I'll be quite busy soon so I might only update this fic every week instead of every other day. I like writing this story but my school is top priority, I'm a graduating college student by next term already. Though I promise you that I'll try my best to finish this.
I'll try to involve a Plasmius-Phantom confrontation soon, but I highly doubt it since I'm a bit far from my intended role for him.
Please read and review!
A Grasp at a Distant Memory
Chapter 10: Spirit Thief
A day has passed after the incident and none of his human friends has seen Phantom yet. The Ghost Portal, still closed for another day, has been preventing any ghost from seeing the Human world as Phantom suggested, and things have been pretty peaceful for the meantime. Jack has been busy with creating another device that will help him in case the ghosts happen to come back after he reopened the portal. Jazz is busy for the orientation and welcome ceremony for the incoming freshmen since Lancer has assigned her to be one of the speakers, and Sam and Tucker are more than annoyed since it's still a few months until the next term starts.
The Ghost Zone is pretty much more peaceful by now. Walker has interrogated the offending Ghosts for pointless thrashing on the human domain, and everyone has been resilient so far. However, the Observants has issued more laws regarding it, and threatened to disintegrate the next time they went against it, so the Ghosts have nothing to do but obey.
Unbeknownst to them, a ghost has been seeking to fulfill her purpose, or rather her obsession.
®® - Danny Phantom belongs to Butch Hartman - ®®
"To Kill a Mockingbird, the freshmen aren't as fresh as we thought they are." Lancer said, noting that the incoming students of Casper High doesn't look as active as the previous batches. "Ms. Spectra, I believe you can help these young men and women take a more active schedule and be an overachiever, can you?"
"Of course, Mr. Lancer", the orange-haired woman held the professor by the shoulders and reassured him. "I can assure you, the children will be at their highest spirits by tomorrow, and they'll be the sweetest little bundles of energy."
"Is that so? Well, I'm counting on you, Ms. Spectra. I hope you can help these kids understand what the real spirit of high school is." He flashed her a grin, as he left the counselor's office.
"Yeah, bundles of energy that I need to corrupt in order to stay young forever. Bertrand, get ready, we're going to harvest a lot now."
The short old man flashed her a look and grinned menacingly.
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"I can't believe we still need to do this", Tucker sighed as he and Sam are walking their way to Casper High. "It's still vacation and we need to go there already? What a drag."
"Quit whining, Tuck. Even I don't like going to school. I just wish Phantom's here so we can prank and scare some future classmates. That would be cool." Sam snickered, receiving death glares from Tucker.
"Sam! You know he might get punished if he accidentally hurts someone."
"My bad, I'm sorry ok? I was just kidding."
"Anyways, the portal will be open in a few hours, so Phantom might pay a visit. Don't worry too much about your boyfriend."
"He's not my boyf-"
"Sam! Tucker!" came a faint voice. The duo turned back to find Jazz, catching up to them.
"Jeez! Can you stop walking too fast?" Jazz stopped and huffed. "I have been calling for 5 times already and you won't stop."
"I'm sorry, Jazz", Sam said as she rubbed the back of her head. "Come on, let's go."
The teenagers continued walking to their destination, chattering about topics ranging from Sam's dislike for fluffy bunnies to vicious ghosts.
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Phantom looked at the closed portal to the Human World, counted the number of hours before it opens again and sighed longingly. It was just then that he understood how attached he had gotten to those humans. He wondered who he was when he was still alive. Was he an intelligent student like Jazz? Was he talented at electronics like Tucker? Was he rich like Sam?
It has been years since he has been dead, but he wondered why there still aren't those memories. Most of the other ghosts remember it like less than one year, and some even subconsciously draw out their purpose and obsessions without even noticing it. Ember even said that she thought she was just sleeping when she went to the Ghost World.
Did he hit his head and died instantly? Did he fall from a really high building? Did he get hit by a train or something? Did he die from an incurable disease?
The possibilities are endless. But he doesn't even know whether he wants to remember or not. Maybe it's better not to recall, he won't have that desire like other ghosts do.
When he first came years ago, he woke up on Clockwork's domain, and got scared of the unfamiliar surroundings. The age-shifting ghost studied him, and had that look of letdown, one look Phantom won't forget.
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"W-What are you?" the young boy shakily asked, raising his hands protectively in front of him. "W-Where am I?"
The ghost have a look of surprise, and then it melted into a gaze full of pity and sympathy. He went near the child, which caused him to step back.
"Hush. There's no need to fear me, little one. I'm Clockwork, the Master of Time, and I won't hurt you."
Hearing his gentle but firm voice, the boy's protective stance softened.
"W-What is this place?" he tried to ask once again.
"This is the Ghost Zone, little one. That means that you lost your human body, and your soul is wandering. That means you are a Ghost, which means you just died."
"I… died?" the boy looked at his slightly-glowing hands, still unable to process all of these things.
"Do you remember anything?" the ghost asked him, and he shook his head. "I see. Then welcome to the afterlife, where…" he stopped when he saw the boy crying. Scooping him up on his arms, he gently shushed the boy.
"Don't worry, little Phantom. Nobody would hurt you, I'll be here, and I'll be your guardian."
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Maddie decided to pay a visit to her daughter, and drove her mini SUV to Amity. She just wanted to see how Jazz is doing with living on her own, and wanted to give her some of her daily necessities. If only her girl will allow her, she'll take her away from Amity and all the paranormal activities surrounding the place. However, Jasmine decided not to take any of her parent's side and decided to be independent. Maddie respected her decision, but that doesn't exempt her from worrying about her all the time. Although she proved to be smart and mature enough, Jazz was merely a 16-year old student, she wasn't even on her legal age to begin with. And even though the girl refused to take any sides, Maddie will still be her mom no matter what.
Maddie has also been receiving a huge amount of things from Vlad. It has been obvious that her college teammate with Jack has been wanting to get a change with her now that she's divorced, but she didn't break her vows with Jack just to let another man court and marry her. She was expecting to be a single woman for the rest of her life. Even though she has been told that she's wasting a huge opportunity continuously rejecting the billionaire, she just can't help herself, she doesn't even have a single romantic feelings for the man. Granted that he has been her friend since college, but being a good friend was the only thing he can do.
Maddie arrived in front of Jazz's apartment. Taking groceries with her, she exit the car and knocked on her door, only to be met with silence.
"Jazz? Are you there, honey?" she called once again, but none ever replied. However, an old woman from the neighborhood heard her, and approached.
"Do you happen to look for young Jasmine, lady?" the old woman gently called, as Maddie nodded her head. "Oh, she said she is going to school today, there's an opening ceremony and she needs to be there. Oh, that young lady sure is a beautiful and talented person."
Maddie smiled at the kind old woman.
"How is she, grandma?" Maddie asked, curious about how Jazz is living her life alone.
"That girl is so nice and responsible. She lives on her own and I know it's hard for such a young girl like her, but she still manages to help me out here sometimes. I wish I have someone like her as a granddaughter."
Maddie was somewhat relieved that there's a person who has been with Jazz, and that she isn't that alone like she thought the girl was. Her rash actions shaped her young girl, and she has been taking chores a 16-year old young lady shouldn't do.
"If you don't mind, what is your connection to Jasmine, woman?" the old woman asked her.
"S-She's my daughter, grandma." Maddie smiled at her, a light hint of sorrow etched on the curves of her grin.
"O-Oh", the old woman was surprised, but she smiled at her and held her hands. "I don't know why you're letting the young girl live on her own, and I know you're kind and you won't let her do that without reasons, but I hope you'll understand that Jasmine is still your responsibility. Whatever happened, I hope you fix it soon, as it has been affecting the young girl so much."
"Thank you, grandma. Can you give these to her once she goes home?" Maddie offered the groceries she has to the old woman.
"Oh, I have a better idea", the old woman giggled. "Why don't you visit her at her school today? The young girl really likes to talk about her family sometimes, I bet she misses you."
"And I miss her too. Thank you so much, I think I'll pay Casper High a visit."
With that said, she drove her car to Jazz's school, thinking of how she would spend some mother-daughter quality time with Jazz.
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"So you really think the problem lies within my beauty? You think I'm not that beautiful enough?" Paulina asked Spectra, which the counselor replies merely with a chuckle.
"Yes, Paulina. You know you're a gorgeous young lady, but you can become more than that. Try more cosmetics and you'll be magnificent in no time."
Paulina sighed, as Spectra smirked and held her by the shoulders, glowing slightly green as some of the woman's wrinkles disappear.
"You can call the next one, Paulina. Thank you very much and I hope you have a good day."
"Yeah. Right. Good day." Paulina said, slightly irked. She left the office with a dejected look. Sam came in next, as Spectra had another raven look on her face.
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Maddie arrived in front of Casper High. Jazz, who was currently talking to Lancer outside, saw her and waved her hand.
"Mom!" Jazz rushed to her side and hugged her, Lancer approaching the both of them. "What brings you here?"
"Aww, you don't want me here, sweetie? You hurt my heart?" Maddie feigned hurt, receiving a chuckle from Jazz.
"Mom! That was supposed to be my line! Anyway, this man here is Mr. Lancer, he's my adviser, both academically and emotionally." Jazz pointed to the man, by which he smiles at her mom.
"Nice to meet you, Ms. Madeline. Jasmine may not be studying here anytime soon, but I must say you did a nice job at raising her."
"Thank you, Mr. Lancer." Maddie pulled her daughter closer. "Thank you for supporting this child all along."
"It's a privilege to do so. After all, she's such a brilliant child. By the way, she was supposed to give a welcome speech to the incoming students here in Casper High. If you want, you can stay and watch the ceremony."
"I will." Maddie said, ruffling Jazz's hair.
"If you don't mind, I have to prepare the auditorium for this afternoon's ceremony, I hope you enjoy your stay here." Lancer said as he walked away.
"Mom, since you're already here, let me introduce you to some of my new friends." Jazz said as she took her mom's hands and dragged her inside the campus.
"I haven't been inside this school before, but I must say it's pretty cozy."
"You bet", Jazz remarked. "Amity might be a small humble place, but it never gets out of the status quo."
Jazz and her mom are walking along the halls, chattering, when Sam and Tucker came, their shoulders droopy and faces depressed.
"Sam? Tucker? Hey, meet my mom!" Jazz excitedly introduced her mother, only for the duo to give her a dejected look. "What the hell is wrong with you two?"
"Everything is wrong with my life!" Tucker growled. "I am wrong, you are wrong, everything is so wrong in this world!"
"Tucker, what in the world are you talking about?" Jazz asked, furious about how the boy reacted in front of her mother.
"I hate this life." Sam said as she bumped her head in the wall. "I want fluffy plushies to cheer me up."
"What?" Jazz was getting suspicious of how the two talked, until she glanced at the other incoming freshmen and saw them on their depressed states as well.
"Are these kids always like this?" Maddie asked her daughter, unsure on how to react on her first visit in Jazz's high school.
"It might be hard to believe Mom, but you just came at a wrong coincidence. I'm going to find Mr. Lancer." With that said, Jazz ran on the halls, leaving her alone on the halls with a depressed Sam and Tucker.
"I can't believe I just wanted to go have fun with Jazz, but it turned out to be opposite." Maddie sighed, then studied the looks on her daughter's friends. "You must be Sam and Tucker."
"I don't deserve to have a name." Tucker commented, which could've made Maddie laugh if not for the grave situation.
"When did this happen?"
"Our new guidance counselor said we're gonna have the best time of our lives, but she lied! We actually don't have a life! I should go jump off a cliff now."
"I… I thought guidance counselors are supposed to act like therapists and cheer students up instead of doing the opposite." Maddie whispered low enough, but Sam managed to hear it.
"Well, news flash, they don't!" Sam snarled at the older woman. "I think I have a fear of guidance counselors now…"
Maddie thought of any possible solution, but right now she needs to know what made the kids act like that.
"Can you tell me where the guidance counselor is?"
Sam pointed west of the hallway, by which Maddie said her simple thanks and run off.
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Phantom was lost deep in his thoughts when the portal opened. His smile widened as he rushed in, and saw Jack giving him a smile.
"Hello, Mr. Fenton." The ghost boy greeted.
"Hi, Phantom. Everyone's at Casper High right now, if you wanna hang out with them. Just remember to stay invisible from the other people or you'll be in real trouble."
"I will. Thanks… and, um… where's Casper High?"
Jack snickered, as he gave directions to the boy, while Phantom remains unaware of the strange occurrences happening.
A/N: Aye, there goes another chapter! And Maddie will be included in the action the next time www, isn't that cool?
It's hard to think of how will this scene in this universe happen, but I guess I wrapped it up enough.
I've been getting a lot of reviews, faves and follows so I have to thank everyone for that! Suggestions are highly appreciated. I love seeing your wonderful comments about the story, I promise that it'll get better soon.
See you next chapter, continue rocking!
~AyaPie