The Crossroads Betwixt Life and Death

Chapter 34: Insignias and Logos lead to Trouble and Lies

(Danny's P.Ø.V)

The drive back to the manor was completely silent but for once I didn't want to talk to fill said silence. I was more concerned with the fact that Vlad wasn't actually taking me to the nut house because he didn't want to deal with a crazy teenager like me.

Okay, so maybe I had been kinda quick to tell him about my little head problem. But what else could I do? I'd been caught red handed...kinda...and since he'd been so nice to me, it would've made me the bad guy if I'd lied again...right?

When we reached the house the sky had gotten even even darker and we floated through the door. Vlad still didn't say anything to me as he stalked past me.

"Good night, Daniel," he but something caught my eye so I stopped. It was a piece of paper left on the table with the keys, with slanted writing that took me a minute just to understand.

Vlad and Danny, I read.

I'm sorry but I did have an ulterior motive for encouraging your outing, as selfish as that is, I admit I am somewhat of a selfish person regardless of my profession.

I feel I've imposed on you two more than enough, so I'm on my way home and hopefully I won't need to come back to use that gun room you told me about, Vlad. I haven't gotten where I am by relying on others too much, but if you need me you know where I am, and don't worry, your secret is safe with me.

Evelyn.

And at the bottom of the page I saw something that shouldn't be there. It was Clockwork's logo...there was another image that I didn't recognise. I hadn't seen it before, or at least I didn't think I had. But if Clockwork's insignia was there it could only mean that she was walking right into a trap!

"Vlad!" I shouted and flew through the rooms to hand him the note. He stood there like a statue and I waved a hand in front of his face. "Hello! This is bad news! Clockwork isn't gonna just..."

"Daniel, do calm down," he said. "Clockwork has shown that, no matter how indecipherable, his actions are he..."

"What the hell are you talking about?! He's gonna kill her! You said yourself that he wants her involved and..."

"She will be fine, I knew she wasn't here the minute I entered the house, and I've a duplicate following her as we speak. I assure you she is in no danger," he told me.

"...Really?" I asked, somehow this was all a bit strange.

"Really," Vlad nodded. He looked totally calm as he sat at his desk with his drink, but he was the world's best liar...he was also the guy who'd took me in when I was all alone.

"Well...okay then..." I sighed. I guess if Vlad said so then maybe it really was fine. He did care about her after all so why would he lie? I left the note on his desk and then flew up to my room. It'd been a very long day and I was beat.

(Vlad's P.Ø.V)

Once I was sure that Daniel had indeed gone to his room, regardless of his thoughts on this matter, I immediately left a duplicate in my study and then, seconds later, I was on my way into the Ghost Zone. I sent a second duplicate to teleport to Evelyn's house, but on finding it empty, I had no choice but to pick up the pace.

For once I wasn't commending myself on my skills of deception, I felt guilty for lying to the boy, but I had no choice. Evelyn was indeed in danger; thinking she was helping me by leaving she was in fact making things more difficult for me than she could possibly imagine. With the second insignia on the note being the rarely used sign of the Observants it would mean trouble for her if they found her first.

My second duplicate continued to scour the city for any traces of Evelyn, but it found nothing which only made me more confused. The Observants hadn't seemed interested in her at all before, so what could've happened to chage their minds? Unless of course, Clockwork had gotten involved again and he was the one responsible.

The more I thought on the issue the more confused I became and telling Daniel would've taken up valuable time. He would only be a hindrance...at least that's what I told myself. After a tedious day of meetings and paperwork the last thing I wanted to do was chase down a defenceless woman being targeted by murderous ghosts. I was not the hero after all. But what else was I to do? Let her die? Let Daniel get injured in a fight that was sure to follow? No, I wouldn't allow that. Things had gone on for long enough, and it was time I put a stop to it all.

But how? For years I was used to careful planning, analysing every aspect of a problem before tackling it. However it seemed that no matter how much I analysed this problem it just didn't have a solution...at least not one that ended well for me or for Daniel.

Perhaps this time it would be better to listen to instinct and charge first...I had tried all other options and they had all come to nothing. But something told me that this option too, was one that I'd come to later regret.

I quickly shook the remaing doubts from my mind as I teleported quickly through the Zone as I made two brief stops, then to the Lair of the Observants and flew inside. I met no opposition along the way and once I reached the main part of the building I knew why.

I was expected.

It seemed that the full court of Observants was gathered, so I floated down to the centre of the room, well aware that though it commanded their attention, it was also a vulnerable spot for me to be in. I glanced around at their identical faces as the anger that continued to rise inside me gave no indication of cooling down any time soon.

"We were expecting company," one of them said to me.

"Clearly," I nodded, "So," I began as calmly and with as much bravado as I could muster, "Would you care to explain yourselves?" I demanded as I held up the letter bearing their crest. At first I was met with resolute silence, but then two Observants floated down to me and stared emotionlessly back at me.

In the back of my mind I saw my second duplicate locate Evelyn as it fought off several of the Observants in a darkened alley. But I had little time to concentrate on that as the two ghosts in front of me nodded.

"As you wish," they said in unison, and, not for the first time since this all began two weeks ago, I soon came to regret a decision of mine.

"We shall tell you all...and then you will breathe your last," the other began with a pompous demeanour. "We only intervene in dire situations where there is no other choice. In the human world we have been watching since you first became a threat, and then we watched the younger half ghost. We saw his evil side merge with yours and we worked with Clockwork to stop him, after that we hoped all would be well," he finished and another took up the narrative.

"At the rate things were going, without our intervention there would be something just as bad as that monster running loose," the other said.

"Like what?" I asked, but somehow I knew I'd regret asking.

"Like you, for instance," the second Observant replied.

"What?!"

"If not for Clockwork's intervention we would have disposed of both you and the young half breed, as well as his family. We wished to obliterate all traces of ghost activity in the human world. Of course there were others who would have followed you."

"You're insane," I said quietly to myself.

"Yes; for allowing this to continue for so long. Human knowledge of our world has threatened its destruction more times in this last decade than in the entirety of its existence."

"You can hardly blame Daniel and I for that! It's the ghosts who draw so much attention to themselves in Amity Park!" I shouted back.

"Yes, and you are one of them. The Fenton's were dealt with first, their activity and their creation of a portal was too risky for us to continue to ignore, the high council agreed; it was time to act. And with the Time Masters' valuable input we learned that you, Vlad Plasmius were just as fatal to our existence."

"That's preposterous!"

"No, it isn't," the first said, floating forwards and putting me on my guard. "If we hadn't intervened you would've held the entire human world to ransom, revealing your identity and subsequently failing in your plans. You would have been left abandoned in space and the entire world, not just Amity Park, would have been given undeniable proof of the existence of the Ghost Zone."

"You did all this, just too keep yourselves hidden! There are other people, in hundreds of countries who believe in ghosts!" I shouted angrily. I had no idea what they were talking about but if Clockwork had told them, then I had no way of knowing; I couldn't see the future after all.

"Belief isn't necessarily proof," the Observant replied. "And if given the chance, you would have returned to wreak havoc on the human world, causing irrevocable damage to the balance."

"Our plan was simple; eliminate all possible suspects known to associate with ghosts in your world, destroy all known portals between our worlds, then deal with the ghosts responsible for drawing attention to our world," another said to me.

"And why didn't you?" I asked curiously.

"The Time Master. We originally agreed that he would be an impartial figure, but he soon disagreed. We had little choice but to listen," the first said and I frowned. This all sounded insane! First Clockwork was responsible, then he wasn't. It seemed like he was the reason Daniel and I were still alive...he had intervened on our behalf...it made no sense at all to me.

"But now..."

"Wait!" I shouted stoping the ghost from saying anything further until I had further answers, "Clockwork claimed that the deaths of the Fenton's was a way of 'testing' Daniel and I..."

"His reasons for acting are not our own, he as always seen things differently," one answered with confidence.

"And why bring Evelyn into this?" I asked.

"The human female is of no importance to us, it was Clockwork's doing, not ours. And it was by his new advice that we chose to target her tonight," was my answer. But that only left me even more confused by Clockwork's actions.

However I had no time left to ponder and question, I saw the Observants gather together in front of me and I took a step back. "But Time Master or no, we have a mission to complete, we have come too far to turn back now...and so have you. You have interfered with our plans for thr last time..." the Observant said and without further warning I was attacked from thousands of different angles in blinding green...

(Danny's P.Ø.V)

This was harder than I thought.

I thought I was tired enough to sleep even with worrying about the doc, but I just couldn't go to sleep. It was now about midnight and I had been staring at the ceiling for at least an hour now...I was bored. I'd tried everything to get to sleep, but nothing worked.

"Arghhh!" I mutter and finally I threw off my overs and flew down through the floor heading for Vlad's study. He'd still probably be in there, he was a workaholic! "Hey, Vlad," I yawned as I saw him still sat at his desk. "Don't you ever sleep?"

"Don't you?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Point," I muttered. "So what're you doing?" I asked as I looked at the papers scattered across the desk.

"Nothing of interest."

"Top secret?" I asked.

"Hardly," he smirked without looking up.

"So...errr...you...err...still don't think I should worry about the doc?"

"No."

"Not even a little bit?"

"No," he repeated.

"Oh," I sighed and we both went quiet.

After a while I thought that I was finally drifting off to sleep when suddenly Vlad started to...to...disappear. Not go invisible like a ghost. He was...it almost looked like he was...crumbling...like...like...like a duplicate when you didn't have enough power to keep it going!

"Vlad?" I asked quietly, and I reached out to touch him...but then he was gone. "Oh, boy..." I muttered. It had been a duplicate...hadn't it? Vlad wasn't here...so where was he?

...Was he with...Clockwork?

...This was really, really bad! If Vlad was in the Ghost Zone then where was the doc? I cursed loudly before I shot up into the sky as Danny Phantom I flew through the streets. Then I remembered that I had no idea where she lived...but I knew what her car looked like, and with my sharp sight it couldn't take too long to find. I hoped.

...

But of course I was wrong; it was like looking for a specific ecto-pus ghost in a mountain of ecto-pus ghosts!

I was taking a rest on the roof of one of Amity's tallest buildings to get a better view of the city when I got lucky. A green light exploded a dozen blocks away and a purple bolt of lightning that was more obvious than a big red 'X' marks the spot on a treasure map, seemed to point the way, so I took off after it.

I soon found a dark alley in a dangerous part of the neighbourhood which normal people would avoid at all costs, but of course, people with ghost powers didn't have the same fears as normal people. I flew down it with my green eyes letting me see through the shadows, I slowly saw a person emerge. It was the doc...with Vlad in ghost form...a very, very tired looking ghost form.

"...Vlad...doc...what..." I muttered. Then Vlad started to vanish again, and just when I thought I'd found the real Vlad, this one was gone too. "Not again!" I sighed; just how many duplicates had Vlad left lying around anyway?

"Danny, what's going on?" she demanded, "Vlad wouldn't tell me anything...and then those...ghosts showed up...and Vlad just..."

"That wasn't Vlad...I mean...well it was, but...it was a duplicate...there was one in the house as well. I thought it was the real one...till it..." I said pointed to where this on had just vanished. "He's good at making duplicates...he's good at lying too..." I frowned; if he'd been worried before he should've told me.

"...What..."

"I...I'll tell you later, there's no time," I said quickly, "Vlad's duplicates couldn't stay stable which means he must be in trouble."

"...Trouble...If that wasn't Vlad...them where is he?"

"I think I know, hold on," I told her as I flew us to Fenton Works. If Vlad was in trouble I was gonna help him, and I needed to get the doc to a safe place...and what better place than the Fenton Weapons Vault?

It took only a few minutes for us to reach my house and I floated us down to the lab. I tried to convince her to stay in thr Vault where she'd be safe but she wouldn't have any of it, and she only stopped pestering me after I agreed that she could come with me. She was just as stubborn...if not more stubborn than Vlad was. So, to save time I had agreed and I handed her a Fenton Foamer.

I then entered the old password and even scanned my fingerprint into the ghost portal lock but it wouldn't open. I tried again and again and again, and then...I remembered...

"No!" I screamed as I banged my fists against the portal. I forgot that Vlad had locked the thing with his ecto-signature-thingy, and it was the only other portal left. His portal was locked and so was my parents'...which meant that there was no other way into the Zone! Which meant...

"What? What's wrong?" the doc asked me.

"We can't get into the Zone is what. I think he's in there doing something stupid but he locked this one and I can't open his portal either," I told her without turning around.

"So...now what?"

"Now...I blast a way in!" I growled and flew backwards ready to attack the portal. But before the energy left my hands I felt my ghost sense and I looked around for the ghost responsible.

"That won't work," I heard a calm voice say and I felt myself freeze over. It was Clockwork. But even he wasn't going to stop me from saving Vlad, I couldn't lose the only person I had left, even if it meant fighting Clockwork; I'd do it if it meant saving Vlad.

The time ghost appeared infront of me and I got ready to attack, but he spoke again, "If you trust me, I can help you." I sent a strong blast his way but he just went intangible so it blasted the wall behind him instead.

"Trsut you?!" I shouted and attacked again...it missed, again. "As if!"

"Plasmius is currently in the lair of the Observants," he said to me and I snorted. "And the only way you can help him is if you trust me."

"Why should I believe you? Why the hell should I 'trust you" after everything you've done?!" I shouted. My anger making me forget all the clues he'd left for Vlad, and the fact that I'd been the one saying that there was more to Clockwork than Vlad thought...but anger kind of make you forget important things like that.

"He is more valuable to me alive than dead," he answered, "The first half ghost has more yet that he needs to do."

"Oh, so when he's 'done', you gonna bump him off too?" I said angrily.

"No," he shook his head.

"Then get outta my way!"

"You won't get in through there," he said.

"Says who?"

"Says the lock that Plasmius put on the portal."

"I'll blast it off then!" I shouted.

"No, you won't..." he waved his staff and a glowing blue portal appeared in front of me, kind of like the ones on the Infi-map did. "This will take you to him."

"I don't believe you," I growled.

"If you don't, he will die," he said. I glared back at him but he just stared back with his usual emotionless face and his form flickered from young to old.

What choice did I have? I had no other way into the Zone; it was take a chance on Clockwork, hoping he was telling the truth, risking the doc's life, and mine in the process, or condemn Vlad to certain death. If I was on my own I'd risk my life without a second thought, but how could I risk the doc's life too? Vlad would find some way to haunt me even in complete death if she died 'cos of me; I was sure of it.

"How sure are you that Vlad's in danger?" the doc asked me, and not for the first time I saw that she was handling all this better than most people would.

"100% sure," I told her.

"Then let's go."

"It's too risky, you don't know what Clockwork's done, I can't trust him!" I told her.

"If we don't, what happens to Vlad?" she asked calmly and I sighed, I didn't need to answer her 'cos she got the message.

"Alright...fine," I growled angrily and turned to Clockwork, "But if you're lying..." I said, though I knew I'd never be a threat to him in a fight. I took one last look around the lab before both me and the doc walked into the glowing portal.