I haven't been forgetting to update this on purpose... I swear. I just have memory problems. It's all done, though, and I'll post all the rest of the chapters in quick succession for you guys.
Thanks to Asilla, Wilona Riva, , nycorrall, NeoRetro10K, MsFrizzle, Guest, ZoneRobotnik, The Full Catastrophe, Phantom J. Ryder, GeekyZelda, IvyVine6, Invader Johnny, Phantom Earth, and Lunaliceazreal for their reviews.
Memory
A Danny Phantom Fanfic by Cori
What's a memory worth?
Danny didn't particularly want to leave his rooftop hideaway. But he knew there were only so many hours that could be wasted before a certain meddling sister came to get him. So, eventually, he ground his teeth together, got to his feet, and went inside to face the music.
How'd the saying go, again? There's only one way to go once you hit rock bottom? Danny snorted to himself as he phased through the roof – not bothering with the old trap door – and dropped to the attic floor. He wondered if this was rock bottom, or if the bottom still had yet to drop out from under his feet. Hands stuffed into his pockets, he walked down the steps to the second floor, then started down the hallway.
He stopped briefly in the bathroom to brush his teeth and run a comb through his hair and stare at his reflection. He looked like he'd spent the entire night awake and worrying. Dark bags hung under his eyes. There was a bit more green in his eyes than usual – the ghost energy helped to keep him awake better than any caffeine could ever do. Then he sighed and headed for the stairs down to the living room.
Only he paused next to his parents' bedroom. He figured his father was still inside, sleeping. Being a Sunday, the man was likely taking the last opportunity to sleep in before having another long week of work. Danny glanced down the steps, then stepped towards the door and pushed it open. An ally against the common ground his mother and sister had likely set up while he was brooding on the roof would be nice. If not an ally, than at least someone who was clueless enough about everything that was going on that it kept his sister's mouth shut. It'd give him another hour – maybe two – before having to deal with the outcomes of last night's chat with his mother. "Dad?" he called, stepping into the room.
It was empty. His father must have woken up early. Perhaps Mom came and got him, to fill him in on their chat last night. Danny scowled and was about to leave when something caught his eye. A flutter of white on the pillow.
Danny crept towards the bed, pausing when he was close enough to see what it was. A folded up piece of paper. He reached over and grabbed it, flipped it over in his hand, and then opened it.
Vlad's fancy cursive was scrawled across the page, two words standing out against the rich, expensive parchment. "Trade me."
It didn't take a genius to understand what Vlad meant by that. Danny stood still, staring down at the empty bed where his father should have been lying. His first instinct was to run to Vlad and demand his father's return. To just start blowing stuff up until Vlad gave in. The tactic never worked well, but Danny was definitely in the mood to blow things up. Only now he had his mother to worry about. And his sister. The 'Hulk Smash' approach was likely to be a non-starter.
He kicked the bed, furious and frustrated. Why didn't he see this coming? He should have known that Vlad wouldn't be okay with having his mother working for him. Vlad always wanted more – and there was one person in the household he hadn't yet demanded more from. Danny should have thought about this and planned for it. Should have protected his father. While Danny was confident Vlad wouldn't harm his mother, his father certainly didn't fit those qualifications. He kicked the bed again, needing the emotional release. Then again and again.
"Danny?" It was his mother's voice. She sounded like she'd just sprinted up the steps. "Sweetheart, stop."
He let his body drop to the floor and buried his hands in his hair, curling up into a ball on the floor.
"What's wrong?"
He felt hands on his shoulders, someone settling down next to him. He didn't particularly want to speak to his mother right now. Not and explain to her how he'd screwed up yet again. How he hadn't stopped to think – he never stopped to think like he should. How he could have prevented this…
"Where's Jack?" she asked, sounding like she was talking to herself.
Danny let his hands drop. The little bit of folded paper was lying on the floor. He slowly picked it up, trying to think. Really, he should handle this on his own. It would be least messy if he just went to Vlad and dealt with this without his mother's involvement. He should just leave and-
Maddie plucked the paper from his fingers and unfolded it, ending his train of thought. She stared at it. "Vlad," she said, having obviously come to the same conclusion as Danny had.
Danny nodded. His mother was sitting next to him, warm and solid. He tried not to lean against her, despite how calming her presence felt.
"What does he mean?" she asked.
Danny figured she already knew, but just didn't want to believe it. "It's never good enough. He'll keep pushing until he gets what he wants. Little by little."
"What does he want from us?" Her fingers were clenched around the paper tightly enough to make it wrinkle and crease.
"I don't know," Danny admitted. "I thought I knew, but…"
"So we go trade him for something," Maddie said. Anger made her voice creak.
"No." Danny shook his head. "Because you'll trade him for this, and then it'll be something else, then something else. And it won't ever stop until you draw a line in the sand." He pulled away from his mother's side and turned to stare at her. "I know Vlad. I know how this works. If you do this, it won't stop. He won't ever stop until you stop playing his game."
"I'm not leaving Jack there." She got to her feet. She looked tense and furious. Dark clouds hung in her eyes.
Danny shifted uncertainly – when his mother looked like this, people generally got hurt. Usually the right people, and usually a ghost, but always someone. In this particular case, with the two options for people being hurt being his father and Vlad, Danny didn't want the person who ended up hurt to be his father. And he was sure Vlad had it planned that any collateral damage would fall on Jack.
"I can't-"
Danny got to his feet to and grabbed her hand, stopping her. "I'm not saying leave Dad there. I'm saying that you can't go there and play Vlad's game. You'll lose."
She blinked a few times, apparently waiting for something, but Danny didn't know what. "Then what do we do?"
Danny felt the weight of the world settle onto his shoulders. He shrugged. "I don't know what works. Nothing I've tried ever works." He shifted uncomfortably under his mother's gaze.
"Then I'll play my game," she said, turning sharply on her heel. Her voice had a growl to it. "Vlad hasn't tried mine yet."
"What game is that?" Danny asked, but his mother was already heading out the door. Danny chased after her, take the steps two at a time. "Mom?"
"Stay here," she said. She turned towards the kitchen door where Jazz was standing. "You both stay here."
"Where are you going?" Jazz asked.
Danny glanced at her. "Vlad's got Dad." He ignored the startled, fearful look on his sister's face to turn back to his mother, who was lacing up her shoes with angry little motions. "And I'm not staying here."
"Yes you are." His mother looked up at him with fury sparkling on her face. "I'm not playing Vlad's little games. I'm not letting him jerk this family around by the nose. And I'm not letting you get involved again. You stay-"
"Vlad'll kill you," Danny interrupted.
The look on his mother's face when he said that spoke volumes. Surprise. Understanding. "I'm not going to let that happen," she said, sounding a bit more gentle. She finished tying her shoes and stood up. "I'll see you in a few hours."
"I know Vlad," Danny told her. She didn't understand what she was walking in to. A manipulative, conniving, condescending, god-like personality. Vlad had only taken Jack because he had eight plans in place for how things would turn out. "He's going to win."
"Then he wins," she said simply. She pulled him into a rough hug. "But I'm not leaving Jack there. And not letting our family get trapped in Vlad's little games."
Jazz walked up next to them. "Danny's right. Vlad's going to have this planned out perfectly. You're walking into a trap."
Maddie nodded. "I'll be careful," she said, hugging Jazz too. "Stay here."
Then she was gone.
Danny waited for the door to click closed before reaching for his shoes. His sister grabbed his arm, but before he could protest she said, "At least give her the courtesy of getting to the car before we follow her."
"We?" Danny asked skeptically. "No offense, but-" He stopped when he saw the look in her eyes. It was the same look Sam had always gotten when Danny tried to leave her behind. If he didn't give her something to do that was productive, she'd find something on her own – and it would probably be more distracting than anything. "Okay," he said.
"Besides," she said brightly. "Remember what I told you about Vlad's weaknesses."
Pulling on his shoes, he tried to think through what was about to happen. Not having much of a head for advance planning, though, Danny found that all it was doing was stressing him out and making the situation worse. He scowled, tied his shoes, and settled for watching out the window as his mother stripped the garage and the broken-down RV (formerly the Fenton Ghost Assault Vehicle) of any remaining weaponry.
When she finally piled herself into the car, Danny waited a few minutes, grabbed his sister, and vanished.
-.-
Maddie had never had such a rough couple of days. She gripped the steering wheel tightly with her fingers and tried to keep her body from shaking. Not when her parents had died. Not when either of her children had been born. Not when she had to deal with her sister's breakdown and her odd collection of relatives. Finally getting her wish to understand what was going on in her son's head…
She swerved around a slow-moving car and swore loudly. Would she be doing this if she weren't so low on sleep and so strung out on coffee? She tried to pause a moment to decide that, but gave it up as a lost cause. Her old family friend had turned out to be a megalomaniac, her son was some sort of half-ghost hybrid thing Vlad had manipulated into disarray, and even her daughter had been dragged into the mess. It likely didn't matter how much coffee or sleep she'd had - this wasn't something she could make sense of without several weeks for her brain to process it.
And she didn't have several weeks. The fact that Vlad's plan was moving so fast was probably the point.
Vlad's compromise had been okay when it had just been a day job; a position helping him develop ectoplasmic technology. She'd almost convinced herself that it was actually a positive development – limitless funding and complete free reign. Vlad had even promised her assistants and a salary that made her head spin. She could change the world with a setup like that.
In order to see the positive, she had to ignore the obvious negative. When she'd gone to speak with him the previous day, his personality had changed. He wasn't putting on the fake smiles and pompous airs that he usually did when visiting the Fenton household. She'd gotten a glimpse of his real personality, and it had chilled her.
But she hadn't really understood when Danny pounced on the job offer and shook his head and told her to be careful. That it was just one step, and it wasn't bad, but there'd always be another. And another.
It looked like Danny was right. Vlad had kidnapped her husband demanding something be traded for it. When – if – she gave in, what would he demand next? And Danny wasn't wrong with his comment about not playing Vlad's game. Maddie knew that giving in to Vlad, giving him what he wanted, would just lead to this happening again.
What would she trade for Jack's life? Undoubtedly, Vlad would ask for something she'd be willing to give. Something small, especially when weighed against her husband's life. Would she really refuse to play Vlad's game when faced with a real choice? It was so easy to think in hypotheticals, but so much more difficult to actually do the thing.
As she blazed through a red light – nobody was coming anyways, it was still rather early on a Sunday morning – Maddie felt a new appreciation for her son. He'd gotten out of Vlad's web, and had stuck to his decision even as Vlad pulled his life down around him. And it would have worked, if not for Director Carson showing up at her door…
Maddie froze, slamming on the brakes and coming to a dead stop in the middle of the street. Director Carson. How in the world did a man running a government agency under the thumb of Vlad Masters get to spend two years researching half-ghost hybrids? There was no way Vlad hadn't known about the research.
Several missing puzzle pieces suddenly fell into place. "Spider webs," she said, shaking her head in dazed amazement. Everywhere she looked, Vlad was in control. Things had been planned, and those plans were slowly being carried out.
Maddie gritted her teeth as she understood. This had nothing to do with Jack. It likely had very little to do with her. This was about Danny. Vlad hadn't given up on getting to her son – he'd just moved onto a longer-range plan. She was sure she wasn't seeing the whole plan, and she still didn't understand the why of it all, but she knew she was right. This was all about Danny.
The missing night of sleep, the several broken nights before, and the overdose of coffee were taken their toll on her mind. As she sat there, feeling the car vibrate around her, she tried to think through what to do next. She'd assumed that this was about her. That Vlad wanted her. This being ultimately to get to Danny changed things.
Maddie was good at planning, at thinking two steps ahead and seeing what to do. But her brain was sluggish and broken after all the stress of the last few days, and Maddie found herself at a loss, a headache starting to throb in her temples at the problem facing her. It was like trying to draw out the shape of the Portal back in college – the Portal was a form of tesseract, and thus a shape that couldn't be really be drawn on a piece of paper. Her forehead tilted forwards to rest against the steering wheel.
A car blared its horn behind her, startling her out of her daze. "Yeah, yeah," she muttered, putting her foot on the gas and continuing towards Vlad's mansion.
What she needed was a good night's sleep. Or even some sort of power nap. But her brain was too full, too wired, for any sleep to happen, and she knew that if she gave Danny even ten minutes too many, he'd go after Vlad himself. With this new understanding that Vlad was after her son, Maddie needed to do everything in her power to keep Danny away from that mansion.
She pulled into the parking space, running mostly on caffeine and pure, righteous fury. Her fingers danced over the working weapons she'd managed to locate, making sure they were all in place, before getting out of the car and slamming the door shut. Forcing herself to stay to a walk, Maddie stalked towards the front door of Vlad's home.
The door opened before she even got there. Vlad stood in the doorway, leaning casually against the doorjamb. "May I be so bold as to say," he said with an arched eyebrow, "you've looked better."
Maddie knew very well what she looked like. It had been almost impossible to not catch her reflection in the rear view mirror of the car on the way over. Dark bags under her eyes and wrinkles from sleepless nights made her seem ten years older. Her hair was an unwashed, uncombed mess. Her clothes were wrinkled and stained – they were the same she'd worn yesterday and never gotten around to changing.
Rather than respond, Maddie thrust out the piece of wrinkled paper Vlad had left on Jack's pillow. Vlad took it between two fingers. "Well then," the man said. "Do come in." He stepped to the side, opening up the doorway for her to step through.
The inside of Vlad's mansion was brightly lit. Sunlight streamed through open windows and glinted off layers of gilded décor. The floor was recently waxed and shone brilliantly. It didn't look at all like an evil mansion, but Maddie felt a shiver run down her spine anyways. "What do you want?" she asked, stopping only a few feet into the building.
Vlad, who'd been a few steps ahead of her, stopped and turned around. "I want many things in this world, my dear." He waved his hand. "My list of desires is extensive."
"What do you want for Jack," she corrected, crossing her arms over her chest. "And what are you going to do to him if I don't agree with it?"
"Straight to the point," Vlad said. "I can appreciate a woman who knows what she wants and is willing to ask for it. However," he held up a finger, "the front hall is not an appropriate destination for negotiations. Please, let's go to my office where we can both be a bit more comfortable."
"I don't want to go to your office," Maddie said. "I want Jack and I want to leave."
Vlad's crystal eyes narrowed momentarily. "Well, I can see where Daniel gets his independent streak," the man mused. The anger that had glinted in his eyes for just a moment wasn't reflected in his calm voice. "Unfortunately, I refuse to negotiate in the front hall. I'll be in my office. If you wish to come speak with me, I'll be willing to listen." With that, he turned and headed up the hallway.
Maddie stood still for a long moment, fuming. Already Vlad had her on the wrong foot. He was treating her like a child being chastened by a parent. She clenched her fingers tighter, wrapping them around her biceps, and scowled. But there was nothing for it. Standing here would get her nowhere. She picked up her feet and followed him, feeling like a four-year-old trailing after a parent.
Vlad's office was a study in gold, marble, and expensive woods. The man was already sitting behind his desk when she stalked through the door, fingers steepled before his mouth. "I'm glad you chose to join me," he said.
"Why did you take Jack?" She was barely far enough into the room to close the door. "I thought he was your friend."
Anger twisted Vlad's face. Maddie flinched from the sudden change in mood and the raw emotion on the man's face. "Jack is not my friend," he snapped. "His incompetence is a thorn in my side that would be best removed. However," the man visibly calmed, smoothing out his expression and running a hand down the front of his shirt, "he has his purposes, and I have not yet fully exhausted those purposes."
"I want him back."
Vlad took a breath, slowly let it out, and then rested his hands on his desk. "And I want to give him back to you. For one, small, little favor in return."
Maddie narrowed her eyes. "So that you can just do something else to me. No, I don't think so. What do you want so that I can take Jack and you never touch my family again?"
A small smirk crossed Vlad's lips. "Ah, Maddie. I always knew you were smarter than the rest of your family. Beautiful, talented, and highly intelligent." Maddie stared at him until Vlad shook his head. "And determined. Very well. I want you and your son in return for your husband and daughter's safety, as well as a promise that anyone in your family will never be used as a bargaining chip by me or anyone in my employ."
"You can't have Danny," Maddie shot back instantly.
Vlad's eyes narrowed, but this time in amusement. "I am very well aware that you aren't able to give me your son. He's far too old and independent for you to be bartering on his behalf. However…" the man's eyes slid from hers to hover on an empty corner of the room.
Maddie stared at the space, the dull throbbing in her temples picking up its pace. "Danny," she breathed, knowing.
Phantom faded into view. He was leaning against one of Vlad's bookcases, his arms crossed over his chest and green lightning flaring in his eyes. "I don't negotiate with you, remember?"
"I told you to stay home," Maddie said. Green eyes flicked in her direction. "Danny, you don't understand-"
"No, I understand," he interrupted. He glared at Vlad. "I've been dealing with this lunatic for eight years. I understand the terms perfectly."
Vlad spread his arms. "Then what are we negotiating for?"
"Because I don't negotiate with you anymore," Phantom said blankly. "Because whatever you hold over my head doesn't compare to what would happen if I gave in."
Silence descended into the office. Birds flickered past the large windows. Sunlight danced on the warm, shining floor. Vlad sat at his desk, staring at Phantom, and Phantom stared back.
Maddie looked from one to the other, then focused on Vlad and broke the quiet. "I want you to leave my family alone."
Vlad didn't even glance her way – she'd been effectively removed from the conversation. The person Vlad had really wanted to talk to had arrived. Maddie had the distinct feeling she could walk out of the room and neither would notice her disappearance for some time. Red flickered around in Vlad's eyes. "I'll kill him."
"More blood on your hands," Phantom answered blandly, apparently unimpressed with the threat. "And yet, I don't negotiate with you." Maddie stared at her son, confused as to how the boy could be so callous. Danny loved his father…
Oddly, a small smile flickered on Vlad's lips. "I'll torture your sister into insanity. Make you listen to her screams as it takes her months of agony to die."
The corner of Phantom's eye twitched, but he just stayed in his spot, leaning against the bookshelf. "I don't negotiate with you anymore," he repeated dully. "Do what you want."
Maddie shook her head. "Danny… Jazz…?" She understood Danny's position of not letting Vlad win, of refusing to play – she understood his resolve – but the words coming out of his mouth were empty and heartless. This wasn't her Danny.
The Vlad she'd always known wasn't the real Vlad. Was it possible that the Danny she'd always known… wasn't the real Danny anymore? Had being a ghost-human hybrid changed Danny that much? Was he really just as cold and heartless as Vlad underneath the human exterior?
The little smile on Vlad's face grew. His eyes filled with red as he turned his gaze to Maddie. "Look at your mother, boy. You're breaking her heart."
Phantom didn't budge. His eyes never even flicked in her direction. "I don't do what you tell me anymore," he said. "And I don't negotiate with you."
"Broken record syndrome," Vlad laughed. "It's amusing, Daniel." The smile vanished. "For the moment."
Phantom quietly continued his glare. Maddie glanced from the boy she'd never met before to Vlad and back.
"We seem to be at an impasse," Vlad said. "I'm a fair man, I can see this will take a bit of discussion. Why don't the two of you go home and discuss-"
"I don't negotiate with you," Phantom interrupted. "I don't need time to discuss that."
Vlad's crystal eyes flared with red. "I heard you the first few times." Anger had crept into the man's voice. "But perhaps your mother isn't quite as determined on that front."
Maddie blinked, surprised by the small crack in the man's armor. It was only because she turned to glance at her son at just the right moment that she saw it – the tiniest of smirks that crept into the corner of his mouth. Her eyes narrowed, ever so slightly. And then his gaze flicked over to hers. "Danny," she started. What was he playing at?
"I don't negotiate with Vlad." He shrugged, still sounding empty and eerily callous, his gaze drifting back to Vlad. "Regardless of the consequences." He smiled, heartless and cold. "Go ahead: kill them. Then they won't be chips for you to use anymore. What will you hang over me when I have nothing left?"
Maddie swallowed.
"Kill my mother too while you're at it," Phantom said, waving a hand dismissively. "Waste all your chips now. I'm sure you have the addresses of everyone even distantly related to me."
Vlad was scowling. "You play the act well, Daniel," Vlad said. "One would think you almost didn't care."
"I care," Phantom said quietly. "I care very, very much. I'm not sure what I'd do if you killed my family." He shook his head and closed his eyes. For a second the blank expression cracked, and his mouth twisted in torment. But by the time his eyes opened, the emptiness was back. "But I don't negotiate with you. I know what'll happen if I negotiate with you, and it'll be worse."
Maddie shivered. The temperature in the room had dropped a few degrees. "I want Jack," she said, making sure her voice was loud enough to not be ignored. "I'm not leaving without him."
"Then you're not leaving," Vlad snapped in her direction. "I'm not letting him go until Daniel and I come to an arrangement."
"I-" Maddie stopped when a phone rang. She glanced towards Phantom who – oddly – had finally moved and was digging the phone out of his pocket.
"Hey," he said, his eyes focused on Vlad.
"No," Vlad hissed. Maddie flinched at the sudden anger in the man's voice, not understanding what had changed. "The girl." Vlad was pushing buttons on his desk, looking at a small computer monitor.
What girl?
A smile appeared on Phantom's face. "Awesome," he said. Then shut the phone off and stuffed it back into his pocket. "Now what will you do?" he asked, crossing his arms again and leaning against the bookshelf. "You seem to be down a few chips."
Black energy was bubbling around Vlad. It darkened the room, casing heavy shadows on all the walls. "You stupid, ignorant child," Vlad hissed. Red speared through now and then like lightning.
Phantom's eyes narrowed. "I'm leaving, Vlad. And I'm taking my mother with me."
"You dare-"
"I don't negotiate with you," Phantom said. "And if you make any move to follow, Jazz blows the explosives she spent the last five minutes planting while you were busy 'negotiating' with me." He took a step forwards, green flaring briefly around him. "You want to keep your beautiful mansion in one piece and not make headlines around the world? And let's not mention all the government investigators that would be crawling all over your totally legal laboratory."
Vlad stood, hands planted firmly on his desk. "You don't know what you're doing."
"I'm leaving."
"This doesn't end anything," Vlad hissed. Black crept into his hair, sweeping it up into horn-like shapes. Red crawled over his skin, changing it to something pale and dead. Fangs flashed in his mouth. Maddie had seen Vlad's ghost form the previous day, but it still made her take a step backwards, the hairs on her arms standing up. "You didn't win this. I get what I want, Daniel."
Phantom walked over and grabbed Maddie's arm. He gave one last glance at Vlad before saying, "I don't negotiate with you."
Vlad screamed and jumped at them, claws outstretched. Energy built around him into a huge flare of red light-
And then the mansion exploded.