FENTON FAMILY FEUD
CONCLUSION
Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom; Butch Hartman does. This story was written just for fun, so enjoy!
The ghost-girl once again stepped through the portal into Vlad Plasmius' lab only to find it was empty. She looked around but found no evidence of the day's activity: the wall had been repaired, the broken masonry cleaned up, and the floor was shiny and clean. The ghost went invisible, and began searching the massive castle room by room, looking for Plasmius.
When she found him, he was in the library - in his human form once again - seated in one of two elegant leather chairs in front of a roaring fire intently reading a ragged old book. He gently turned the yellowed pages and smiled as he skimmed halfway down the page to read. The ghost materialized behind him, and read aloud over his shoulder.
"Sit in a theater, to
A play of hopes and fears
While the orchestra breathes fitfully
The music of the spheres.
"Ah! The Conqueror Worm! One of Poe's best, if you ask my opinion."
Vlad Masters jumped out of his chair with a shriek and spun around, dropping his book on the floor. "Don't you ever sneak up on me like that!" He squeaked. "And, no, I didn't ask your opinion!"
The ghost shrugged, and bent to pick up the well-worn copy of The Collected Works of Edgar Allen Poe Vlad had dropped. She flipped the pages to the poem he had been reading and jumped ahead a few lines
"That motley drama - oh, be sure
It shall not be forgot!
With its Phantom chased forevermore
by a crowd to seize it not . . ."
"Give me that!" Vlad demanded reaching for the book. The ghost spun away from his grasp and continued reading.
"Through a circle that ever returneth in
To the self-same spot,
And much of Madness, and more of Sin,
And Horror the soul of the plot."
"Are you quite finished?" Vlad sneered.
The ghost smiled at him and slapped the book closed. "Yup. I'm finished."
"So, how did it go?" he asked.
"Swimmingly," she replied. "Danny and his father fought the whole way back to the Fenton lab, and once there, Danny exploded at his father, and ran upstairs in a huff. It was all very dramatic and intense."
"Excellent!"
"So, are you going to let me in on your little plan now?"
Vlad shrugged. "Why not? You've earned that much."
"I've earned much more than an explanation, but I'll take it. For now. Do you mind if I get comfortable first?"
"Be my guest," Vlad replied returning to his chair in front of the fire and watched the girl transform. She closed her eyes in concentration. A glowing white aura surrounded her, growing brighter and brighter, until Vlad was forced to shield his eyes with his hand. When the light dimmed, he blinked and saw the ghost-girl had transformed into a slight-framed woman, her black hair cascaded down her back, and her body was draped in a white, knee-length gown, cinched loosely at her waist. She smiled at Vlad and took a seat in the vacant chair beside him.
"Alright," she said. "I'm ready to hear all about your grand scheme."
"Ah, yes! You see, my dear, I've made it my life's work to destroy Jack Fenton's life."
"Why? What'd he ever do to you?"
"He stole the woman I loved, and ruined my life!" Vlad screamed.
The ghost looked around at the opulent surroundings in Vlad's study - the rich mahogany shelves filled with rare, leather-bound books, paintings by master artists hung on the walls; the entire room - one of dozens in his castle - was gently illuminated by antique sconces.
"Oh, yeah, your life really stinks!" She said sarcastically. "You have a lovely home, beautiful possessions, amazing wealth, and, oh, yeah, ghost powers. I can see how that might leave a man unhappy."
Vlad glared at her. "You wouldn't understand. Anyway, once I discovered that the ghost boy was Jack's son Daniel, I turned my attentions towards getting the boy to join me. He's stubborn, though, and foolishly loyal to his father."
"Ah, so you had to get Danny to hate his father," The ghost said. "So you used Danielle's ghost to pit father against son. You're betting on Danny being so angry at his father for abandoning his aunt that he'd be willing to betray him!"
"Exactly. And from what you've told me, the plan is working perfectly."
"It's brilliant!"
"Yes, it is."
"Well, thank you, Vlad, for sharing your plan with me," the ghost said, rising from the chair. Vlad rose with her. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to collect my payment."
Vlad turned to the bookshelf, reached up and removed an elaborately decorated box. He blew the dust off it, and turned to his guest. Her eyes lit up at the sight.
"My box! Give it to me! Please!"
Vlad slowly extended his hands until the box was mere inches from her wispy white fingers, then pulled it away again. "Vlad!"
"Now, now, Pandora. Did you really think I was going to give you back your precious box? So you can go around collecting all the evil spirits you released into the world, making it a lovely paradise once again?"
"But, you promised!"
Vlad chuckled. "My dear woman, weren't you paying attention at all today? I never keep my promises!"
Pandora growled deep in her throat. "You never intended to return my box in exchange for my portrayal of your arch enemy's sister, did you?"
"Nope," Vlad confessed gleefully.
Pandora raised her hand, anger flowed through her body, down her arm, and formed a blindingly white ball of light in the palm of her hand. She reached back intent on blasting Vlad Masters right off his feet. Vlad quickly transformed into his ghost persona, Plasmius, and held Pandora's box out in front of him. His hands glowed red, and the box began to smoke and burn.
"No!" Pandora cried, extinguishing her weapon. "Please! Don't destroy it!"
Vlad cooled the box with an icy breath. While it suffered some minor scorch marks on the sides, it was otherwise intact.
"While I appreciate the wonderful job you did for me today, Pandora, I think I'll just hang on to this. You know, in case I ever need you play the part of Danielle Fenton again."
"Fine," Pandora said, her voice thick with emotion. "Have it your way. But mark my words, Plasmius: I will get my box back one day, and I will capture all the evil I unleashed on the world!"
"Best of luck with that, my dear!"
Pandora turned and glided towards the door, then paused and looked over her shoulder.
"Oh, by the way, Vlad? There's one other tiny little detail I learned at the Fenton lab that I forgot to mention earlier."
Vlad set Pandora's box back up on the shelf then turned back to her. "Oh? What's that?"
"Danielle Fenton is still alive."
Pandora finger-waved farewell to a stunned Vlad Masters, then went invisible and disappeared through the library door. As she transported herself out of the castle, she heard Vlad screaming:
"Fumbled forward pass!"
THE END!