Written for Day 3 of Ectober Week 2021: Burial!

When they'd first heard the news of Vlad's passing, Maddie hadn't quite believed it at first. Even after the ecto-acne incident, Vlad was an untouchable pillar. Not the kindest or most polite man she'd known, no, but he was ageless. She'd never admit it aloud, but he had almost an immortal grace to him.

And his mansion collapsed on him. The crew that arrived on the scene of the accident had managed to uncover a hidden laboratory. The efforts took several days, but they managed to recover Vlad's body, which as far as corpses go, was surprisingly well preserved. They'd attributed it to the chemicals around him; the ectoplasm in the air.

His laboratory had been a ghost research lab, she'd deduced.

Vlad never mentioned he still had an interest in ecto-science. It was a shame she'd never have the opportunity to ask him why he kept it hidden and what he'd been working on when one of the devices in the lab detonated.

After all, Vlad had been a close friend once.

Maybe that was why she was compelled to make the funeral arrangements on his behalf. Vlad had no close family, his parents long deceased and his sister had vanished years ago—it was suspected she fled to Europe, but Maddie never heard confirmation. Regardless, after a discussion with Vlad's attorney, she and Jack had the green light to make the arrangements.

She hoped it was what Vlad would have wanted.

Six days after the mansion went under, Maddie received a phone call from the police department.

"Is this Madeline or Jack Fenton?"

"Yes, this is she."

On the other line, she could hear the typing of a keyboard. "You are in charge of Vlad Masters' funeral arrangements, correct?"

"Correct."

The last Maddie had spoken with the coroner, the autopsy had been planned for later that afternoon. Had something come up?

"There has been… an incident," the officer on the line sounded almost pained. "I'm sure you know, Vlad Masters' autopsy had been scheduled for later this afternoon. It seems that someone did not want the autopsy performed, because Mr. Masters' body is now missing."

Maddie's blood chilled.

"It's what?"

The officer inhaled. "His body has been stolen from our morgue. It's missing."

"I'm sorry, you're going to have to give me some more details. I don't understand. How could it be missing!"

"That's uh, that's the tricky part. We believe the thief was a ghost."

No, no that couldn't be it. She and Jack had installed a ghost shield at the morgue. They'd already had a scare a few days back with that vampire-ghost, Plasmius. He vanished before either she or Jack could pull a weapon, but they'd gone ahead with the ghost shield installation just as an extra precaution.

Unless one of the officers had turned the shield off, no ghost could have stolen Vlad's body. She explained this to the officer on the phone, who sounded just as lost as her.

"Mrs. Fenton—"

"Doctor."

"Yes, Dr. Fenton. I understand what you're saying, but it's even less possible for a human to have broken into the morgue. We have an alarm system for anyone that forces their way in without an ID card, and even if someone manages to get into the morgue they'd still have to leave the police department while lugging around a body. No one can pull such a feat unnoticed. No one but a ghost."

"Well, you must be wrong then. Because our ghost shields are impenetrable."

The officer sighed. "That's not all, though. We have footage of the thief. We know which ghost it is."

… what.

"Why didn't you lead with that, then?" she accused. "Which spook do I have to hunt down?"

"Dr. Fenton, it is that reason alone that I did not disclose which ghost we suspect stole Vlad's body. You may be a ghost hunter, but we fear any careless action will antagonize the thief and we may not be able to recover Mr. Masters' body. This call is a notification of what happened, not a call to action. We, the police, will handle the ghost."

Her blood boiled.

They couldn't do that to her. Did they not realize that she was in the best position to locate ghosts! The police department didn't have half the gear that she and Jack had access to, they didn't have a fraction of their expertise! What blatant disrespect! Not to mention, they wouldn't even tell her which ghost was behind it!

"No, you will not be handling the ghost," she hissed. "Do you hear me? I am Dr. Madeline Fenton, and I will track down that ghost. I don't care who you think you are, but I deserve to know which ectoplasmic fiend defiled the body of one of my closest friends!"

There were hushed whispers on the other line.

"Dr. Fenton, if we need your expertise we will contact you at a later date. For now, leave the issue to us and we promise we'll do everything in our power to return Mr. Masters' body to you. Got it? Thank you, and goodbye."

"Wait—!"

The line went dead.

In her rage, Maddie almost threw the phone to the floor.

If it hadn't been for the front door opening at that moment, she might have gone through with it. Instead, she set the phone back on the receiver and turned toward the foyer. Danny was standing in the doorway, hair mussed back and a streak of dirt across his cheek.

"Hey, mom."

"You're home early," she noted.

Danny shrugged, slipping his backpack off of his shoulder. "I've had a long afternoon."

She repressed a groan. "Don't tell me you cut class."

"What gives you that impression?" he said.

Was he serious right now?

"Danny… I know things have been rough lately, but that's no reason to slack on your education."

"Vlad would beg to differ," he grumbled.

"I'm sure your uncle Vlad would want you to keep living life, even when he's not here."

Maddie brushed her fingers across Danny's shoulder and he made a face.

"Vlad wouldn't give a shit about my life."

Oh, he did not.

"Daniel James!"

"What? It's true. The only person Vlad cared about was himself, and look where that got him."

"Danny, we do not disrespect the dead in this house."

He snorted. "Yeah, you just shoot at them."

Oh Lord help her with this child.

Maddie took a calming breath and reminded herself that Danny was hurting, and this lashing out was how he was coping.

"Ghosts aren't the same, sweetie. Your uncle Vlad may not have been the most admirable person in life, but that doesn't warrant those sorts of comments."

Danny nodded. "If you say so. I'll be up in my room."

He slid past her and disappeared up the stairs before she could think of an appropriate response.

Well, that couldn't have gone worse.

Still, there were more sensitive matters at hand. She needed to find out which ghost had stolen Vlad's body and get it back so they could go through with the burial. After all, she didn't quite enjoy the idea of burying an empty casket.

Which ghost would even have the motive of stealing the mayor's body? Vlad hadn't had any attempts on his life in the past, if she recalled. Though, now that she thought about it there was one incident that stood out. Except, it hadn't been with Vlad. No. Back all those years ago, during the first ghost invasion of the town, hadn't Phantom kidnapped Mayor Montez? It was a far stretch, but who's to say Phantom wouldn't try it again?

So far, he was her top suspect. Plus, even if he didn't steal Vlad's body, he might have information on the real culprit.

Now all she had to do was break the news to Jack.

"I'm never doing that again!" Danny slammed his bedroom door in Plasmius's face for the second time that day. Again, he phased straight through it. Ugh.

"You did a good thing, Daniel. As much as it pains me not to have a proper burial, I feel better knowing that our, well your, condition can't be replicated. Now that I'm a full ghost, more halfas in this world would be a pain."

"You literally died cloning me. Don't you think that's, uh, a little self-contradictory?"

Plasmius scowled, shooting a small ectoblast in Danny's direction. The little spurt of power dissolved before even reaching him. Danny laughed at Plasmius's distress. Ever since he died, all of his ghost powers had reverted back to square one. Danny would wager he was weaker than an ecto-squid now—served the bastard right.

"Ugh! I hate being this fucking powerless!" he bemoaned. "When will I get my strength back!"

"Don't ask me. It is nice knowing I can kick your ass for a change, though." Wait. Plasmius had forced him to rob a morgue, haul his corpse bridal-style to the woods, and phase it thirty feet underground. By all means, Danny should kick his ass!

Plasmius seemed to realize the same thing.

"Daniel, please. I—I just died! I don't—"

"Oh, save it," Danny rolled his eyes. In a flash, he changed into Phantom. "I might not have this chance ever again. If it makes you feel better, I can give you a head-start?"

"Not the thermos," Plasmius whimpered. "Have mercy!"

"Should've thought about that all those times you threw me in cages," Danny snickered. "Or when you dissected my clones."

"In my defense—"

Danny shot an ectoblast at his feet. "Your head-start starts now, dickwad. I'll give you three minutes."

Plasmius vanished. Danny set his timer.

Maybe a brawl wasn't the most healthy way for Danny to work out his issues, but at the moment it was definitely a good stress reliever.

hey guys! if you like this fic I 100% recommend you check out ceciliapen's tumblr because she drew some amazing illustrations for this chapter!

hope you enjoy the next installments!