AN: I'VE HEARD SOME GREAT SUGGESTIONS, AND NOW I HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT I AM GOING TO DO. STILL ACCEPTING SUGGESTIONS THOUGH, UNTIL THE VILLAIN IS OFFICIALLY REVEALED. BUT UNTIL THEN, LETS FOCUS ON ANGST! :)
It was the next day, when we find ourselves at the Fenton breakfast table. Minus one member.
"Where's Danny?" Now that it was brought to their attention, the Fenton parents indeed noticed that their youngest son was missing.
Standing up from the table, Maddie started making her way downstairs, calling out, "I'll go get him!" She also hoped to apologize for their behavior yesterday, as they never got the chance to do so. When she made it to the basement, she saw Danny curled into a ball, facing the opposite direction. Walking up to it, she knocked on the glass; only to go completely ignored. Frustrated, she tried again; same result. Now she was worried. A bit more frantically, she tried one more time. There! She got a response this time; he started to turn his head only to change his mind and put it back down. Furrowing her brown in confusion and concern, she decided she's had enough. As hard and loud as she can, she practically bangs on the glass. The results are satisfactory; Danny jumps a good foot, then snaps his head towards her. Only now can she how red his eyes are, signaling he's been crying. But...why are they green? She'll have to figure that out later. Right now, her baby needs her.
Steeling her gaze into the best motherly scolding she could manage, she motioned with her hand to come on out, only to receive a vigorous head shake in return. His answer was clear : no. Putting her hands on her hips, she tries again, with a bit more motherly scolding. The result is the same, only this time, he looks more frantic. Initiate confusion. And concern, that too.
Cursing under her breath, she begins to climb the stairs to the top of the tank, Danny's eyes widening when he realizes what she's doing. He moves to cover something, though Maddie can't seem to figure out what. Strange. Slipping into the room temperature water, she makes her way towards her son. Dunking underwater, she grasps his arm, to his surprise, being careful not to grab his fin. With as much strength as she can muster, she pulls both of them to the surface. Once their heads break the surface, she immediately starts her concerned questioning.
"What's the matter?"
Instead of answering, he just hangs his head, letting his white bangs cover his eyes.
"Daniel Fenton." He flinches under her harsh tone, and she immediately regrets it. But she knows it's necessary in this situation. It was then she noticed something alarming, but also most likely the reason for her son's distress. Looking through the water, she sees his feet. Or, what used to be feet. Currently, they're looking an awful lot like someone took a pair of flippers and merged them into his feet. They didn't even look like human feet anymore. Turning her attention back to her son in her arms, and noticed he was shaking. Looking further, she also noticed he wasn't actually putting any weight on them.
"Do you think you can walk?" To her disappointment, he shakes his head 'no'. "Do you want me to bring you breakfast?" He nods his head, 'yes'. Ruffling his hair, "Ok, I'll be right back." As soon as she lets go of him, he sinks back down to the bottom. Pausing in her path, she grabs him again, and pulls him up. At his questioning gaze, she answers "Figured you would want to be above water to eat breakfast." Smiling at his mother, he allowed himself to be pulled towards the edge, where he sat down, only half submerged in the water. Sending a gentle smile back, Maddie ascended the stairs into the kitchen.