Disclaimer: I own nothing from Danny Phantom
Note: There's a bit more swearing in this chapter just so you know since things are about to get really intense once Vlad finds out what happened. Originally I was going to write it out actually happening but decided against it since I wasn't sure how to handle such a devastating scene, that's why I opted to just explain it after the fact to make it easier for myself. Also, there might be some sensitive content in here so just a heads up, I went really hardcore with this chapter. Some sections accidentally turned out a bit similar to one of my other stories but I managed to give it a unique spin. Also, I'm taking some artistic license here with a few concepts from the show so I hope you don't mind!
Chapter 10: Wake Up And Smell The Roses
"He could almost hear the wail of pain that went up from his heart. It was a sharp terrible personal pain the kind of pain that comes only when someone to whom you have never done any harm turns on you and says goodbye goodbye forever without any reason for doing it. Without any reason at all."
~ Dalton Trumbo, Johnny Got His Gun
Vlad's POV
The only thing that kept me grounded so I wouldn't teleport straight to Amity Park to destroy whoever was responsible for doing this to my little badger, is that she needed me. Danielle needed me to be a pillar of strength, a supportive shoulder for her to cry on, and if I left her side now to find out what on earth happened, I was afraid an important part of her would truly die the instant I did. And so for Danielle's sake, I remained the strong silent sentinel keeping vigil over her until she eventually cried herself to sleep unintentionally...
Or perhaps it was because she flew for several days straight which is the only explanation for how Danielle managed to get here so quickly without attempting to locate my portal on the other side of the Ghost Zone which would have given her more direct access to my castle. Especially since I've already programmed it to allow her inside to show her that BOTH of my doors are open to Danielle if she ever needed my help or has finally chosen to join me. Then again, perhaps whatever happened was so sudden that this was the only reliable way to reach me safely, it's too soon to say until I can ask Danielle for an explanation once she's calmed down.
However, the most disconcerting thing right now is that despite knowing Danielle has only fallen asleep because I could hear her breathing slowly and evenly as she rested her head against my chest, is that she still hasn't reverted to her human form yet. Now I know her strength and endurance has greatly increased over the past several months as Danielle has continued training so she can maintain her ghost form for much longer than before, but I had a sneaking suspicion that she was still in this form because it was a self-defense mechanism and she felt unsafe. But thankfully Danielle didn't appear to be injured, if anything she seemed weak from malnutrition and likely has not eaten anything since she left Amity Park or slept since then. Quite frankly, it's a miracle she didn't faint somewhere along the way in her current condition.
Looking down at Danielle as I carefully lowered her so her head was resting on my lap instead, I gently brushed back her ethereal white hair to take a closer look at the dark circles under her eyes. They were too distinct to just have been from two days without food or rest, no, this goes much deeper than that so perhaps there was something wrong with her after all. It's almost as if her energy has been severely drained before coming here or something caused her a great deal of pain and Danielle had yet to recover from it. That said, Danielle would not have come to me if she was afraid of getting caught absent from her home, because even Jack and Maddie were bound to notice if-
My thoughts were suddenly interrupted when my personal phone vibrated and with a frown when I saw the caller id which registered as Fenton Works, I reluctantly laid Danielle down on the sofa without me since I didn't want to startle her by leaving a duplicate in my place since she's still extremely tense even in her sleep and stepped away to answer this. There had to be a reason her parents were calling me so late and with any luck I may be able to gather some important information from them about what in the world could have forced Danielle to turn to me for help so suddenly. Bracing myself for whatever idiocy I was about to hear I put on my best act to make it seem as though I've only just woken up and answered the call...
But on the other side of it, it was a voice I had not anticipated at all.
"Vlad? Oh, thank god this is the right number! You have to help me, please! I didn't know how else to contact you and I need help, Dani is-" cut off mid-sentence I was stunned when I heard Jason yell, "Don't you two come anywhere near me! You are NO parents of mine after what you did to my sister! You stay right there or I'm calling the police next! Damn it...I knew I shouldn't have used the house phone. Ok, there, Vlad I-I just wrote your number down so just give me a few minutes to call you back, I need to get out of here."
And without waiting for my reply, the call abruptly ended and I stared at my phone in shock before turning to Danielle, my rage building when it hit me that it was her own PARENTS who had chased her away, not some ghost. And judging from Jason's reaction he knew what happened between them at least more or less but I had this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that I already knew the answer. Only one thing could have driven Danielle to the point where she became desperate enough to come to me for help so soon, but I needed to know for sure so I waited in the deafening silence for my phone to begin vibrating again.
I didn't have to wait long since Jason had retreated to the safety of his car and I could tell he was driving when he breathlessly continued, "I...I'm sorry for calling you out of the blue like this but I couldn't think of anyone else who could help me. I can't find my sister anywhere Vlad! She's not at Sam's or Trish's so I don't know where else she would run off to! Oh god, if anything happens to her I'll-"
"Jason, take a deep breath and calm down," I instructed firmly, "Where are you right now?"
"I just left my hou-I mean, THAT place and I'm driving to the nearest hotel outside of town to get away from my parents. I'm 18 now so they can't stop me from doing it either! Actually no, those people will NEVER be my parents again, not after this! Those fucking idiots," I didn't take Jason for someone who swore but I could tell he was furious and deeply upset so I listened as he continued rambling.
"I knew, I always knew their ghost hunting obsession would hurt someone someday but why did it have to happen not once but TWICE because of one of their stupid projects?! Dani tries so hard to make them proud and she does so much good because she cares about people but my parents have never seen her do any of that because they're so selfish and wrapped up in their sick obsession with ghosts! But how could they be so fucking heartless and throw her out like that just because she's a little different?!"
Even though I was on the verge of losing control myself after hearing that, I forced myself to remain calm and told him, "Jason, listen, I don't want you driving while you're this upset and getting into a car crash so I want you to pull over somewhere. Try to find a place that's out of sight in case your parents try to follow you and convince you to come home. Can you do that for me? I'll stay on the phone with you so try to stay calm, we'll figure this out."
"I-you're right, freaking out isn't going to help anyone, especially Dani," Jason nodded, taking a few shaky breaths in and out. "Just...please Uncle Vlad, please tell me it's going to be ok. We're going to find my sister and she's going to be alright..."
Finding my eyes actually welling up with tears as I returned to sit down on the couch with Danielle again, touched by how deeply Jason loves his little sister and how loyal he is to her, I replied, "Yes Jason, everything is going to be fine. I promise. I won't let anything happen to you or your sister because I can't help but feel like you're my own children even though we've only known each other for a short time. So of course I will do everything in my power to help you."
After thanking me Jason turned his attention to his breathing and I couldn't help but notice that I had consoled not one but TWO distraught teenagers in one night. If anything, this was more proof that I am a much better father than Jack and a better parent than Maddie. Especially if...if they've actually done something as cruel as rejecting and disowning their only daughter.
However, the reason for their rash decision has yet to be seen so I can't say for sure if it's because they've found out she's half-ghost or not. But for Danielle's sake, even I can't help but hope that isn't the case. Because as much as I want Danielle to be my daughter, I don't want it to be at the expense of her whole world falling apart.
"Now, try to stay calm and tell me what happened. And don't worry, you can tell me anything and I won't judge so please don't omit any details no matter how insignificant they may seem. I'll need as much information as possible in order to deduce where your sister might be," I began once Jason found a safe place to park and I continued to idly stroke Danielle's hair more to keep myself calm than anything else since I already know she is perfectly safe. However, I still need to find out what happened either way and why Danielle's parents threw her out.
Earlier I even had a duplicate make some calls for me in order to cancel all of my plans for tomorrow and compensated the ghost pilot I hired for what I had hoped to be a fun and relaxing trip for Danielle and an escape from her troubles. I just never could have foreseen something so devastating befalling her without warning like this. Obviously, I've been concerned that this outcome would always be a risk from the moment I realized Danielle had become half-ghost in a household with two ghost hunters present, but for her parents to actually-no, right now I need facts, not mere speculation! But once I know the full story I WILL get my revenge on Jack AND Maddie for doing this to my little badger when Danielle has been working herself literally to death to please them and do what she believes to be the right thing even when no one ever thanks her even for the smallest gestures of kindness.
"Before I tell you anything, just promise to keep an open mind ok? I know your accident with the prototype of my parent's ghost portal changed your life too in a lot of ways, possibly just as much as my sister in some regards, but...well let's just say my sister was more deeply affected by hers in ways no one could have predicted that have made things especially hard for her at home," Jason began, choosing his next words carefully.
"I don't know all of the details, but I had just gotten home from a date when I heard yelling down in the lab and went to see what was going on. It was late though and because I knew Dani should have been in bed by then, at first I thought they were yelling at her because they caught Dani trying to sneak in or out of the house past curfew again. But when I actually went down there to diffuse the situation I realized this one was much more serious...and Dani she...she..." Taking a moment to find the right words, Jason confessed, "Ok so backtracking a little so this makes a bit more sense, lately, my parents have been working on another invention they call a 'Spector Deflector' that's supposed to work the same as our ghost shield and repel ghosts. Only this thing is also supposed to be worn like a belt and...hurt them like some kind of ghost-tazer I guess."
"Go on," I urged despite the sour taste in my mouth thinking about Jack and Maddie happily working on something so dangerous and acting as if causing a ghost pain is perfectly alright as if they're not even animals, but unfeeling monsters.
Swallowing hard, Jason continued shakily, "As part of their research to make it work the way they wanted it to they've been studying the effects of a rare ancient anti-ghost remedy that one of my dad's ancestor's used to use called Blood Blossom. Mom was so happy when she told me they found a surviving specimen in a specialty flower shop all the way in Salem, Massachusetts, and they had at least a few dozen of them sent to our house since those flowers are supposed to be extinct everywhere else in the world. She even said she wanted to start growing them in our backyard to protect the house from ghosts if the shield ever-"
"WHAT!?" I snarled, my eyes flashing bright red when I couldn't control my emotions anymore, "Are those two insane!? Those flowers are extremely dangerous! If planted under the wrong conditions they can become extremely poisonous, even to humans! Are-are you quite certain those flowers were Blood Blossoms? What did they look like?"
Startled by my reaction Jason exclaimed loudly, "Oh no, does that mean that they've poisoned Dani too?!"
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I exhaled sharply to regain control before I accidentally woke Danielle and reassured him, "No! No, of course not, I'm sure that not even your parents are that reckless. After all, Blood Blossoms have to be grown in very specific conditions before they become toxic to humans. Otherwise, they are perfectly harmless to everyone but ghosts. I'm terribly sorry, I didn't mean to alarm you, Jason. Please continue."
Still shaken by what I said Jason continued his story a bit more worriedly, "Well if Blood Blossoms are supposed to look like these bright red roses with dark purple leaves then yeah I think they're Blood Blossoms. Thankfully my mom never got the chance to grow them herself because I got rid of every single one before she could get any seeds from them after what happened. Anyway, ever since those flowers showed up at the house I noticed that Dani seemed to feel really weak around them and like she was in pain so I tried to tell my parents to get rid of them, but as usual, they wouldn't listen. And that night when Dani went down to the lab when she thought our parents were still asleep and they saw how different she looked, not to mention how the flowers were reacting to her directly they-"
After that Jason lost his composure and blurted out almost fearfully, "Vlad, the truth is my sister is actually Dani Phantom. You've heard of her, right? The ghost girl who protects everyone here in Amity Park? I know how crazy that sounds but after the accident, she changed, but being half-ghost doesn't make her a bad person! She's not some circus freak or a monster, she's still my little sister!
"And yet my parents had the audacity to tell Dani that a ghost like her can't be their daughter even after she changed back to show them she was telling them the truth and she's still the same old Dani! But instead of hearing her out they actually threatened Dani and told her to leave Fenton Works and never come back. They didn't even let her pack first!
"Dani tried to explain herself and reason with them, but when I saw they were about to reach for their weapons to repeat their threat I stepped in and told them to stop. Dad even tried to grab me and pull me behind them to protect me from MY OWN FUCKING SISTER so I punched him! It didn't do much damage though and after that mom was kinda preoccupied while trying to make me stop hitting him but by the time I finally snapped out of that fit of rage which is totally unlike me, Dani was long gone.
"My parents were a mess after that, but at least I managed to give my dad a bloody nose which I'm actually proud of and I took off immediately afterward to look for Dani at one of her friend's houses. I mean, she practically tells those two everything and as far as I know, they've known Dani's secret from the start so I thought she had to be with one of them or they at least knew where she's hiding! I didn't find out about my sister being half-ghost until much later though when a ghost named Spectra tried to kill me and I have been covering for Dani at home and at school whenever I can ever since to help her out.
"But now I don't know what to do. I don't know where she could be! You understand though right?! You went through an accident like hers so even if you're not just like her you'll help me, won't you? PLEASE! I'm begging you, Vlad! I can't lose my sister too..."
Finally coming to terms with the reality of what Jason had told me after an eerie calm swept over me I responded confidently, "Jason. You don't have to beg me to do anything. I had hoped I was wrong about your parents still being as selfish and bullheaded as ever but it looks like they haven't changed at all.
"I was willing to give them another chance, but this, this is just as unforgivable as what they did to me back in college, if not more so. From the moment I heard about Danielle's accident from your father, I already knew that she was going to be someone very special. And I truly believe that I'm one of the few people who truly seems to understand her, apart from you that is. That's why I felt an immediate bond with Danielle.
"That said, I promise I will do everything in my power to help your sister. So please, rest easy and as soon as I discover anything about Danielle's whereabouts I will let you know," I lied, though only about the part about still not knowing exactly where Danielle is. "In the meantime, you should stay there just in case your sister tries to reach out to you and I will do what I can from here. Let me send you my other private number just in case and I'll block this one once I know you have it so they can't contact me the same way you did from their landline. And if we need to take legal action to keep your sister away from them if they're still a danger to her I need to know if I can count on you to testify against your parents for child endangerment. After all, you've known them longer than I have at this point."
"I'd do anything for Dani," Jason replied harshly and without the slightest hint of remorse. "I'd die for her so you can count me in."
"Don't throw your life away so easily, my boy, things aren't that dire," I lightly scolded. "Besides, your sister would be very sad if she heard you say something like that."
"You're right, sorry about that, I wasn't thinking. And I'm sorry for getting hysterical but I'm really scared right now," Jason admitted nervously. "I wasn't sure if I should tell you Dani's secret since it's not really my place, but I thought it would be easier for you to accept coming from me. And I didn't want my parents trying to worm their way out of this once it finally hits them that they've lost both of us because of one bad decision. Knowing them, they'll try asking you for help finding her too before long but without actually telling you the truth about what they did to Dani. But I'm not going to let them get away with this or get anywhere near me or my sister ever again! They've done enough damage."
"It's alright Jason, I understand," I nodded. "At any rate, I'll send you my private contact information after this, and remember, should you need anything else I want you to call me immediately. I can always have a room prepared here for you as well if you have nowhere else to go, but again, for Danielle's sake I think it's better for you to stay there for now just in case she comes looking for you because I'm sure Danielle knows she can still depend on you at the very least."
"Vlad...thank you so much," Jason sniffled, "I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything. Right now, all that matters is finding your sister and protecting her so just do what you can from there and leave the rest to me. In the meantime, if you're not too far from the hotel I would suggest checking in as soon as possible so you can get some rest, you're going to need it. And I'd hate for you to have to spend the night in your car," I said and Jason sighed.
"Good point. Still, thank you for understanding Vlad. I'm glad I was right about you since you seem to care a lot about my sister, I could tell from how nice you were to her at the reunion. I just wish...my parents could have been more accepting and considerate like that." Turning his car on again and shifting to pick up his phone and pull it closer since he had it on speaker up until a few moments ago, Jason concluded with, "Don't let me down ok? I'm counting on you."
"I won't," I smirked despite the heavy topic, "Goodnight Jason."
And with that, Jason bid me goodnight as well and after taking a moment to process all that new information I contemplated what to do with Danielle. For one thing, I needed to make sure she was healthy after being exposed to so many Blood Blossoms over the course of several days, possibly weeks which would explain how feeble she seems even though Danielle doesn't appear to have a fever or any injuries. If those flowers were affecting her ghost half even in human form and preventing her from self-generating more ecto-energy after battling who knows how many ghosts, it's no wonder she seemed so catatonic earlier. That could also be the result of her depression since Danielle has been through quite an ordeal it seems.
It may take some time for her to recover, but at least I've convinced her brother to stay away from here for now until I figure out what to do next. But having Jason already know her secret and knowing he has already accepted the truth about his sister does simplify a few things. From the sound of it, Jason suspects that I might be half-ghost too, however, it doesn't appear as if he has any intention to use that information against me even if it turns out to be true. Why would he when Jason is already entrusting Danielle's well-being to a man he's only met once?
At any rate, feeling rather drained myself, I carefully lifted Danielle off the couch and carried her to one of the guest rooms, picking a different one from the one she stayed in last time that was much closer to mine so I could check on her more easily over the course of the next few days. And just to be safe after I took a blood sample for the purposes of performing a brief medical analysis, I gave Danielle a few injections of one of my other ghostly healing agents to help boost her regenerative powers again, not to mention I needed to strengthen her immune system so she wouldn't get feverish during the night. At the last minute, I also decided to give Danielle a sedative too, but only for tonight because it was clear to me that the poor girl is disturbingly sleep-deprived and needed the rest.
After laying her down I went ahead and kissed Danielle on the forehead as a small sign of compassion, but to my surprise, I actually felt a tear roll down my cheek and land on hers as I whispered softly, "I'm so sorry Danielle. I never wanted this for you. That's why I tried to warn you. But it doesn't matter. You're here now and that's what counts. You may not have wanted to, but you came to me, and that means you trust me at least enough to ask for help which is a start. I love you Danielle, and goodnight...little badger."