Ghost King Danny: Book 1
A The Horsemen's Commander Production
Chapter 24- Vladimir Masters' Ghost Lab/The True King PT. 3
Author's Note: GO!
Vlad walked with the poise and grace of a king from the 18th century, a smug smile on his face, with Jack and Maddie in tow. He stopped in front of a large bookcase with football sitting on a white marble pedestal. He flipped the football pedestal sideways, revealing a small red button.
The bookcase slid back to reveal a white marble staircase that looked as though it was never used.
Jack was looking like a child in a candy store as he walked down the staircase. He was finally going to see his friend's lab!
Maddie's mind, however was whirling with ideas of what she and Jack would be able to help Vlad with. Maybe they, together, would be able to take down that evil ghost Phantom.
Phantom. He had formed right around the time of Danny's accident with the portal and since his formation, he'd caused nothing but trouble for the quiet town of Amity Park. Well, as quiet as The Most Haunted Town in America could be. And that's not counting the times where he stole from a jewelry store and attacked the mayor. She'd ask Danny about this, eventually, seeing as Phantom was taking on his form every time he "saved" the town.
She sighed softly. She'd figure this out later. Right now, she had a lab to see.
Meanwhile, with Danny and Company
Danny looked at the note Jazz handed him with Clockwork's message on it. 'What does that mean, the crown is closer than I think? So, it must be near Vlad, maybe?' He didn't know for certain, but he would let his friend, sister, and girlfriend know.
Girlfriend. He loved the sound of that word. He'd waited so long to tell her, that he was worried that he'd never do it. But he did, and that's all that mattered to him. Now he just had to find the crown.
In a glass case in Vlad's lower laboratory
The crown shook with anger. Its connection to the ring was slowly being eroded. The king would have to find it soon to fix it, but the damn glass case was preventing this.
Oh well, at least it made progress on the thing caging it. The seemingly ghost-proof glass was no match for the connection between the crown and ring. A large single line split the cage down the middle, but the glass itself held, determined to keep the crown inside.
Soon though, it would be free.
Back with Danny and friends
"Are you sure you want to do this now, Danny? What if Vlad catches you?" Tucker said as Danny, Sam, and Tucker walked, invisibly to Vlad's lab.
Danny looked at Tucker. He understood his nerves, but something in him was telling him to go to Vlad's lab, that something was there. He just did not know what.
"I feel like I have to go down there, man. It's weird. Like something's calling me…" Here, Sam's eyes widened as the revelation hit her.
"Danny? What if that feeling is the crown?"
Danny looked at her invisible form, confused. "The crown? Are you sure, Sam?" She smiled at him.
"Yeah, Danny! What else could it be? Clockwork did say that the crown was closer than you thought. Think about it."
Danny thought about it for a second and nodded. Maybe Sam was right. 'Only one way to find out, right?' Danny thought. He closed his eyes and focused on the Crown of Fire allowing his core to draw him to it, wherever it might be.
It was a surprise then, that his core sucked him through the velvety carpet below him.
"Whoa!" Danny yelled as he was sinking through the floor, disappearing from his friend's sight.
Sam and Tucker wasted no time following him through the floor, wondering where the hell he was headed.
Danny landed on a gray tiled room with multiple tables littered with beakers and test tubes filled with various liquids that Danny's instincts said not to touch. Ever.
Looking around for a bit he noticed a set of stairs leading up somewhere and was about to open it when he heard a loud booming voice coming from the other side.
"So Vladdie, when do we get to see your lab?" Danny could hear the elation in his dad's voice and slowly began panicking, beginning to change back to his human form just as Sam and Tucker floated in from the ceiling.
"Danny! What are you-", Sam started.
"Shhh! Dad's coming in! You two might want to change back!"
Sam and Tucker allowed their rings to flow over their bodies, turning them back to their human personas.
The three half-ghost teens then heard an audible click from the door as it swung open revealing Vlad, in all his pompous glory, stepping into the lab, a surprised look adorning his face as he saw the three teens.
"Daniel, Mr. Foley, Samantha. How did you get here?" Sam bristled at the use of her full name, but calmed when Danny grabbed her hand.
"Danny?"
Danny looked past Vlad and saw his dad looking at him in surprise and confusion. Danny smiled embarrassed and waved at his dad.
"Hey dad, mom. Didn't expect you guys down here. What are you here for, exactly?"
Vlad took this moment to speak.
"I had offered to show Madeline…and Jack my lab. I had not intentionally wanted them to see my research, but it seems that Maddie told me that she found out from you, Daniel. Care to explain?" Vlad had to see if what Maddie had told him matched up with what he knew of Daniel's personality.
Danny's eyes narrowed slightly, but not enough that either of his parents would notice.
"I somehow stumbled onto your open lab door and found your portal during the reunion." Danny said calmly as possible, belying his actual fear of being found out for what he was really there for.
Vlad's eyes lit up in surprise. So, Maddie was telling the truth, then. Not that he'd ever think that Maddie was wrong. Ever. The surprise on Vlad's face melted into a cool confident smile.
"Ah, yes. Thank you, Daniel. You have cleared many things up for me. Would you and your friends like to take a tour of my lab? Seeing as you only stumbled on it, I doubt you had time to look around."
It was now Danny's turn to be surprised. He expected a lot of things from Vlad. Sabotage. An evil plot to make him his son and his mother his wife. Vlad overshadowing the owner of the Green Bay Packers and forcing the owner to give them to him.
But not this. This was a bit…weird for Vlad.
But he might find a way to the crown. So, he did the sensible thing.
"I think we would enjoy that Vlad. Thanks for the offer."
Vlad's smile got slightly wider. "Anytime, Daniel. Let's get started, shall we?"
Vlad spent many hours telling the Fentons and Daniel's friends about his lab and certain items that he spent time creating, before leading them over to a familiar, yet unfamiliar octagonal shape, with a swirling pink mass in the center of it.
Vlad's ghost portal.
Author's Note: How was this? Loved it? Hated it? Read and Review. See you later my friends!
*The Horsemen's Commander Rides Again*
